22/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the European Commission refuted criticism made by Gazprom about its proposal to unbundle energy production and distribution ownership. It affirmed that it would stick to its proposal and that any company active on the EU energy market, including Gazprom, would be subject to this measure if it entered into force. On Wednesday, during a video-conference with journalists in Brussels, the vice president of the Gazprom board of directors, Alexander Medvedev, asserted that unbundling was “the most absurd idea in the history of the world economy”. On Thursday, the spokesperson for Commissioner Andris Piebalgs underlined that the opinion of Mr Medvedev “did not coincide with that of the Commission” and that the Commission would stick to its proposal for the European Council of 8-9 March. Medvedev also criticised the Commission's intention to attack long term energy contracts, affirming that these contracts were a “guarantee of stable deliveries of Russian gas to the European market”. (hb)