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Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Submitted on 2015-04-22 22:00:00

Russian Energy Ministry on the European Commission’s “Statement of objections” in the framework of the antitrust investigation against JSC Gazprom

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Statement by the Russian Ministry of Energy on the European Commission’s “Statement of objections” in the framework of the antitrust investigation against JSC Gazprom, 22 April 2015

On 22 April 2015 the European Commission published on its official website a press release stating that the Commission had sent to JSC Gazprom a “Statement of objections” in the framework of the ongoing antitrust investigation into Gazprom’s business practices in the European Union, being one of formal steps in the investigative proceedings.

In this regard the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation recalls that in November 2013 the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, reached a written agreement to hold consultations on the matter in accordance with Article 102 of the 1994 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement Establishing a Partnership between the Russian Federation, of the One Part, and the European Communities and Their Member States, of the Other Part (Russia EU PCA). The consultation process was unilaterally interrupted by the European Commission. 

It is furthermore regrettable that the investigation does not take into account the arguments of the Russian side, as the Russia-EU Energy Dialogue was unilaterally suspended by the European Commission on the wave of sanctions. 

The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation expects that mutually acceptable constructive solutions to the issue will be found without its politicisation in the course of further consultations between Russian and EU sides, in particular in line with provisions of Articles 34(1) and 102 of the Russia-EU PCA obliging the EU to take measures to settle the issue through negotiations.