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EU: EC wins Gazprom cooperation

By  |  March 13, 2017

Russia’s state-owned gas producer, Gazprom, has agreed to a series of concessions to address the European Union’s concerns about its market dominance in the supply of energy to Eastern Europe.

The European Commission said on Monday that Gazprom has agreed to price gas at market competitive prices. It will allow countries in the region to re-sell the gas they buy — something that became a political issue in recent years when some EU countries were selling their gas to Ukraine, to which Russia had cut off supplies during the war there.

Gazprom also agreed not to own the pipelines through which it supplies its gas, as that would give it excessive control over the country being supplied.

Antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated,“We believe that Gazprom’s commitments will enable the free flow of gas in Central and Eastern Europe at competitive prices.”

The EC is now inviting EU states to review the deal it has struck with Gazprom before it is firmed up.

Full Content: Washington Post

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