![\"\"](\"http:\/\/emimer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/GettyImages-475619438-714x475-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Russian gas giant has to revamp the way it sells gas to EU countries.<\/p>\n
European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Thursday stuck with her controversial decision not to fine Gazprom on charges that it abused its dominance to rip off consumers in Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
Instead, the settlement announced Thursday will seek to change Gazprom\u2019s behavior through a set of legally-binding commitments.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur decision provides a tailor-made rulebook for Gazprom\u2019s future conduct,\u201d Vestager said. \u201cIt gives Gazprom customers in Central and Eastern Europe an effective tool to make sure the price they pay is competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under the deal, the Kremlin-backed firm agreed to make deep changes to the way it has historically done business in Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know some would have liked to see us fine Gazprom no matter the solution on the table,\u201d Vestager said, adding that the settlement achieves goals that the Commission \u201ccould not have gotten otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gazprom agreed to change how it negotiates gas prices with countries in Central and Eastern Europe, in an effort to create a more competitive market. Customers will now have the right to ask for a price review if they believe they are paying Gazprom higher prices than on Western European gas hubs. If a deal isn\u2019t struck within 120 days, an arbitrator overseen by the EU \u201cwill then impose a competitive gas price.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gazprom also agreed to drop clauses restricting customers\u2019 ability to sell gas across borders and create opportunities for more gas to flow to the Baltic states and Bulgaria.<\/p>\n
The commitments are valid for eight years.<\/p>\n
\u201cGazprom has accepted that it has to play by our common rules \u2014 at least if it wants to sell its gas in Europe,\u201d Vestager said.<\/p>\n
Gazprom\u2019s Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said that the company was \u201csatisfied with the commitments decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that today\u2019s decision is the most reasonable outcome for the well-functioning of the entire European gas market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Commission can impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the company\u2019s annual turnover in case Gazprom breaks its commitments \u201cwithout having to prove an infringement of EU antitrust rules.\u201d In Gazprom\u2019s case this could be as much as \u20ac6.8 billion, according to its 2015 results. It will also set up a monitoring system to ensure Gazprom sticks to the deal.<\/p>\n
Opponents of the settlement argued that Gazprom should have been fined. They fear any commitments will be too weak to change Gazprom\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are disappointed that the years-long proceedings have ended with no fine for Gazprom, no compensation for affected companies, and with hardly any meaningful concessions on Gazprom\u2019s side,\u201d said a Polish diplomat. \u201cThis is particularly worrying in the context of the aggressive Russian policy against the EU and its member states. Today\u2019s decision sends a clear signal that the EU is coming to terms with years of Russian tactics of using Gazprom as an external policy tool against the [Central and Eastern European] region.\u201d<\/p>\n
A leaked copy of the Commission\u2019s 2015 charges against Gazprom shows Brussels planned to hit the Russian company with significant fines for \u201cintentionally\u201d abusing a dominant position to harm governments and customers in Europe in what was an \u201cobvious infringement\u201d of EU rules.<\/p>\n
But the Commission retreated from that hard stance.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s final announcement comes more than a year after Vestager first announced in March 2017 that she was considering settling the inquiry without a fine in return for Gazprom\u2019s commitment to improve how it does business in Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n
Lithuania, whose complaints kicked off the case in the first place, was generally pleased with the outcome, but the country\u2019s energy minister, \u017dygimantas Vai\u010di\u016bnas pointed out that the settlement doesn\u2019t correct past wrongs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot write off estimated losses of about \u20ac1.5 billion to our gas consumers, created by Gazprom abusing its dominant position on the market,\u201d he said in a statement. \u201cWe will continue to look for ways to make Gazprom to indemnify those losses.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision doesn\u2019t mean Gazprom won\u2019t face lawsuits. \u201cIt is for people who feel that they have suffered from Gazprom behavior to go to national courts and to seek compensation as it has just been confirmed by the EU court,\u201d Vestager said.<\/p>\n
Commission investigators raided Gazprom\u2019s offices in 2011, although held off on formally charging the company amid a dramatic deterioration in relations between the EU and Russia over the latter\u2019s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.<\/p>\n
The Commission has not always followed up on threats to fine companies in the past, dropping cases against banks and cement-makers in recent years after they dispelled concerns set out in formal charges. When asked in 2017 to explain why she preferred settling, Vestager said: \u201cWe found it was most helpful for citizens to have Gazprom\u2019s future behavior changed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Russian gas giant has to revamp the way it sells gas to EU countries. European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on Thursday stuck with her controversial decision not to fine Gazprom on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[119,139,233,248,291,297],"class_list":["post-795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-eu","tag-gazprom","tag-qatar","tag-roudibaroudi","tag-vestager","tag-zygimantas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emimer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}