Brussels, 29/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 29 September, the European Commission said that it had received a reply from Russian gas giant Gazprom to its Statement of Objections, sent to Gazprom in April (see EUROPE 11300). Gazprom rejects the accusations of abusing its dominant position.
European Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso said that the competition services would now carefully examine the response. The Commission suspects that Gazprom has abused its dominant position on the market for the supply of gas in a number of Central and East European countreies. The Russian giant issued a press release on Monday 28 September stating: “The response filed today addresses all aspects of the Statement of Objections and shows why we believe the European Commission's allegations are based on an incorrect methodology. In particular, when it comes to Gazprom's alleged “excessive pricing”, our response provides evidence and data to show why the Commission's conclusions are both economically and legally unfounded.” Last week, Gazprom had sent proposed commitments to the Commission (see EUROPE 11394). It feels that consultations with the Commission should continue in order to settle the case on mutually acceptable ground. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)