EU Begins Anti-Trust Procedure against Gazprom as Greece Talks Pipelines

EU Begins Anti-Trust Procedure against Gazprom as Greece Talks Pipelines




The New York Times reports on Greece's on-going talks with giant Russian gas corporation Gazprom to build a pipeline through the Balkans that would also include Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. The Times reports that the deal, possibly worth billions to the Greek Government, comes at a crucial time when they are "running desperately low on cash", but also as the European Union prepares to launch an anti-trust investigation against Gazprom.

"Greek officials met on Tuesday with the head of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, spurring speculation about a possible multibillion-dollar pipeline deal between Athens and Moscow. The talks, which officials cautioned were not expected to lead immediately to a deal, came at a crucial time. The European Union announced on Wednesday it is launching antitrust charges against Gazprom, while Greece is trying to negotiate a new debt deal with its European creditors that the country needs to avoid a default", the New York Times reports.


In the procedure launched on Wednesday, the European Union blames Gazprom of abusing its position in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, to bring unfair pricing practices, charging much more than the actual company costs or benchmark prices. As Russia is Europe's dominant gas supplier, Brussels has long threatened it would launch an antitrust procedure, and this idea has gained traction with Russia's involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. The action announced on Wednesday could potentially lead to a fine of up to 10 billion EUR for Gazprom, and in regulative changes that would force the company to allow more competition in the markets where it operates. Gazprom has famously tried to work with individual European countries, as opposed to dealing with the European Union as a whole. But Russian neighbours, who feel threatened after the Ukraine crisis, have pushed for a more unified approach.


"The decision is a strong signal to consumers and the market that rules apply to everyone. The era of Kremlin-backed political and economic blackmail draws to a close”, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said after the announcement of the antitrust action.




Meanwhile in Athens, far left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his even more hard line energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanison met with Gazprom executive director Alexey Miller, with scarce official comments made available to the press. MIA correspondent from Athens reports that Greek Government sources said they hope the agreement for Greek involvement in the Balkan gas pipeline would come as soon as possible. Greece hopes to be part of the Turkish Stream project, that would become one of Russia's main transit routes for gas into Central Europe, as fighting and deteriorating political relations with Ukraine put the existing pipelines in question.


"Greek and German news outlets reported recently that Gazprom was considering providing up to 5 billion euros as an advance for the extension of the so-called Turkish Stream pipeline, which has yet to be built. Greek and Russian officials have declined to comment on those reports. A cash injection could hardly come at a better time for Greece, which is expected to run out of money within weeks unless it gets outside help. But it remains unclear whether Mr. Tsipras is prepared to take the political and geopolitical risks that could come with strengthening ties with Russia. His trip to Moscow this month riled European officials, and Greece will need the forbearance of its European creditors and the International Monetary Fund if it is to survive its latest debt crisis", the New York Times reports. The new Greek Government has made a sharp break with the position of the previous Conservative Government, with Tsipras asking for an end in European sanctions against Russia and appointing prominent Russian backers Nikos Kotzias and Panos Kammenos as his Foreign and Defense Ministers.


According to experts consulted by the Times, the antitrust action started on Wednesday would not block a Greek agreement with Gazprom. But, they warn that the same regulatory obstacles that the EU raised with Bulgaria, when it was considered as the first EU country to receive the new Russian gas pipeline, would still apply to Greece, and the obstacles the deal would face could be huge.cc/13:35