The European Commission on Wednesday formally charged “Gazprom” – RBC

Photo: Yekaterina Kuzmina / RBC

The European Commission may bring the Russian company official charged with violating the antimonopoly legislation on Wednesday, April 22, according to the publication. An investigation into the “Gazprom” is the European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.

The same information Wall Street Journal reports, citing a source familiar with the situation. According to the interlocutor of the American edition, the list of charges, known as the notice of claim, including the agenda of the European Commission on Wednesday. The representative of the Commission Ricardo Cardoso and the official representative of “Gazprom” Sergei Kupriyanov declined to comment on the publication.

formal charges “Gazprom” can lead to a cooling of relations between the EU and Russia, said the Financial Times.

Vestager last week announced its intention to “act decisively against energy companies that are detrimental to competitors” and “blocking the flow of energy from one EU country to another,” reports Bloomberg.

The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation against ” Gazprom “September 4, 2012. European officials have accused the Russian company of violating laws that emerged in the market, establishing unfair gas prices and preventing fuel purchases from independent suppliers.

The representative of “Gazprom” Then said the company sees as the European Commission antitrust investigation attempt to reduce prices. However, he stressed that “Gazprom” and the Russian government has repeatedly offered to EC dialogue, but no action from European officials did not follow.

In February 2015, Margrethe Vestager said in an interview Eurobserver, that took a break in the antitrust investigation in respect of “Gazprom”, explaining that deals with the study of the European gas market, infrastructure, prices, and “how it all works.” European Commissioner stressed that the pause in the investigation has no relation to the Ukrainian crisis.

In the middle of March FT wrote that the allegations “Gazprom” on the basis of the EU antitrust investigation were ready by the end of 2013, but Brussels refused further steps to prevent any deterioration of relations with Russia.