UPI: Europe leans on Ukrainian energy company

A European energy administration agency said Monday the Ukrainian government needs to examine its contractual relationship with Russian energy company Gazprom.

The European Energy Secretariat sent a letter to Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan calling for an assessment of the contract between Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz and Gazprom.

Parts of the contract, including the take-or-pay clause requiring Naftogaz to pay for a pre-determined volume of gas, serves to "prevent, restrict and distort competition on the natural gas market in Ukraine and affect trade in natural gas within the [European] energy community," the secretariat said in a statement.

Gazprom in June switched Naftogaz over to the new payment scheme because of $4.45 billion in overdue bills.
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