Brussels, 19/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission remains open to compromise with the Russian authorities on the Gazprom file - a file concerning the Commission's suspicion of Gazprom for abuse of dominant position in Eastern Europe.
The Commission is prepared to negotiate a legal compromise with the Russian administration over the coming months in order to find a positive way out of the Commission's investigation - launched on 4 September, following a complaint from Lithuania - against the Russian gas company Gazprom for abuse of dominant position and price manipulation in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe which are greatly dependent on deliveries of Russian gas. The objective is to avoid disruption to supplies of Russian gas to the EU, now that winter is approaching.
“A number of points are obviously controversial. But I believe that both sides can be professional on this, so much so that I believe these controversial issues can be cleared up. I believe it is possible we find compromises. Moreover, the European energy market, our industry and the consumers need not suffer from this”, said European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger on the sidelines of the European energy ministers meeting in Nicosia on 17 September. “We don't see any risk for our security of our supply, either for oil, coal or gas. We assume all sides will respect contractual commitments”, he added. Oettinger will meet the new Russian minister for energy, Alexander Novak, in November at the latest. Europeans and Russians will meet again by the end of the year for the annual sessions of the Permanent Partnership Council and the EU-Russia energy dialogue. (EH/transl.fl)