Pipeline to power

24 October 2016 By George Hay, Sarah Hurst Follow @gfhay

The European Union will shortly rule on alleged anticompetitive behavior by Russia’s state-owned gas giant. Tensions with Moscow are high, and Brussels has also crossed swords with the U.S. But there are arguments for being tough too.

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Russia's state-owned Gazprom is negotiating a settlement with the European Commission over alleged overcharging for gas that may be reached by the end of October, the Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 14.

Bulgaria has accepted contracts that require it to pay much more for its consumption than Germany does. Central and Eastern European countries overall are estimated to be reliant on Russia for 75 percent of their gas import needs and ultimately overpay 10 to 30 percent more for their imports than their Western neighbours, according to a report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies published on Oct. 13.

"Russia has also been able to take advantage of the debts that local gas distributors are often forced to incur in order to purchase Russian natural gas as a pretext for the temporary cancellation or suspension of contracts, which have political consequences and have prompted civil protests," the report added.

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