Gazprom Submits Draft Proposal to End EU Probe

Russian state controlled energy giant OAO Gazprom has submitted a draft settlement proposal to the European Commission to end the antitrust case launched by the European Union's competition regulator. Gazprom's deadline set by the EU to reply to accusations on competition is September 28th.

"We hope to discuss this proposal with the representatives of the commission in the near future in order to come to a settlement agreement," Gazprom said in a statement. The company added that it was still planning to send a separate response to the charges levied by the commission by September 28th.

The EU Commission in April formally sent an antitrust complaint to Gazprom, accusing it charging unfair prices for natural gas in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Bulgaria.

"It's hard to know whether the European Commission will accept Gazprom's preemptive offer," said Alec Burnside, an antitrust lawyer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Brussels. "Ms. Margrethe Vestager has shown a very strong determination to move some cases forward," Burnside said to Dow Jones Newswires.

In June, Gazprom CEO Alexander Medvedev estimated the average price for European consumers at $240-$242/1,000 cu m for the year.