Russia: Anticipated Gazprom complaint on hold amid Ukraine crisis

While the European Commission is still expected to issue a competition complaint against Russia gas giant Gazprom, an EU official reportedly said that the complaint is on hold as it “would be conceived as an aggression against Russia” amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

The Commission’s Celine Gauer, who is the director of the antitrust unit for the energy industry, spoke at a conference Tuesday to discuss the matter, noting that while a complaint sent against Gazprom would simply be a statement of objections that has nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine, it could be misconstrued considering the political climate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin backed the Ukraine region of Crimea to join Russia as political ties with the EU and US continue to strain.

The Commission assured, however, that any Gazprom complaint would be objective in the midst of the political tensions. Gazprom is suspected of abusing its dominant market position to charge unfair fees in central and Eastern Europe, among other concerns.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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