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The European Commission (EC) seeks to get access to gas contracts signed between Russia's Gazprom and European companies with a view of establishing whether they violate European trade rules, German news service Deutsche Welle reported with reference to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that claimed it had relevant draft documents at its disposal.
It is reported that the EC believes Russian energy giant seriously hampers the development of a competition on gas supply markets in Central and Eastern Europe, where the company is holding a dominant position.
In particular, the report refers to the fact that Gazprom does not allow reselling its gas among EU countries, which enables it to charge unfair price for natural gas.
Read alsoEuropean Parliament calls EU states to avoid building new gas pipeline from RussiaAccording to the mentioned draft documents, the EC wants to get access to details of all the contracts, valid for more than a year where a gas supplier accounts for over 40% of a EU country's annual energy needs. New rules may also apply to the Nord Stream-2 project.
Read alsoItaly’s Saipem sues Gazprom due to South Stream haltAs UNIAN reported earlier, Bulgaria's parliament rejected a proposal tabled by ultra-nationalist party Ataka, which called for resuming construction on the South Stream gas pipeline, canceled by Russia in December 2014. The project was stopped because it had not fulfilled EU legal regulations, according to official statements.