NYT: Stalled Gazprom Antitrust Case May Suggest Unease for Energy Sanctions
Even as Russia and the West keep raising the stakes in their economic sanctions battle, the one commodity that could matter most — Russian natural gas — seems still to be off limits.
And that is all the more notable because long before Ukraine erupted as a geopolitical crisis, the European Union was aggressively pressing an antitrust case against the Russian state-controlled gas giant, Gazprom. If Europe has grounds to punish Moscow economically, the Gazprom antitrust case might seem to be a prime opportunity.
Gazprom is suspected of inflating prices and imposing unfair restrictions on gas distribution within Europe, which is heavily reliant on Russian natural gas.
As recently as last winter, Russia and the European Union’s competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, seemed on the verge of settling. But now the case appears to be languishing. And people close to the inquiry are uncertain whether it will be revived before the autumn, when Mr. Almunia is scheduled to leave office.