BRUSSELS—Russian gas monopoly OAO Gazprom still aims for an
amicable settlement of the European Union's antitrust case against
the company, Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said Thursday
following a meeting with the EU's competition commissioner.
Mr. Medvedev said the company disagrees "in particular" with one
point of the commission's charges, which accuses the company of
charging customers in some Eastern European countries excessive
prices for natural-gas shipments.
"Our prices are nearing a record low for our customers across
Europe," Mr. Medvedev said in a statement.
Mr. Medvedev said his meeting Thursday with the EU's Competition
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the first since charges were filed
against Gazprom in April, was "productive."
"As I have stated in the past, we prefer to settle this case
amicably and will continue to engage with DG Competition [the EU's
antitrust body]," Mr. Medvedev said.
"Today's meeting provided a good framework for future
discussions and we hope to make swift progress toward a mutually
acceptable solution."
A commission spokesman confirmed the meeting between Ms.
Vestager and Mr. Medvedev, saying the two had an "informal exchange
on Gazprom's preliminary views" on the charges that have been filed
against the company. He declined to comment further.
Settlement talks between the commission, the EU's antitrust
watchdog, and Gazprom broke down early last year, when the conflict
in eastern Ukraine hurt relations between Brussels and Moscow.
The commission usually gives companies that have been hit with
antitrust charges a chance to meet with the commissioner and other
officials to find out more about the cases against them. Gazprom
has until mid-September to send a formal response to the
charges.
In late April, Ms. Vestager announced antitrust charges against
Gazprom, claiming its often-secretive contracts were hindering
competition in the natural-gas markets in eight EU
countries—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.
In five of those countries—Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
and Poland—the EU also accused Gazprom of charging unfair prices by
using complex formulas that link the price of gas to that of oil.
In certain periods, Ms. Vestager said at the time, these methods
led to prices that were 40% higher than the charges of competitive
gas hubs.
The sharp drop in oil prices over the past year has pushed down
the cost of gas in countries where contracts with Gazprom are still
governed by the pricing formulas.
The commission also alleged that in Bulgaria and Poland Gazprom
has sought to link the supply of gas to controlling key
infrastructure projects, including the now-abandoned South Stream
pipeline and the Yamal-Europe pipeline.
Write to Gabriele Steinhauser at
gabriele.steinhauser@wsj.com
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