Lithuanian PM: Gazprom Needs to Play by EU Rules

Gazprom should cooperate with the EU and play by its rules to the benefit of all parties, the Lithuanian Prime Minister has said.

Speaking on Lithuanian public radio yesterday, Andrius Kubilius said that Gazprom, which is currently under investigation by the European Commission for anti-competition practices, would benefit from cooperating with the European Union and its laws.

"All Europe needs is that Gazprom, as an important gas supplier to Europe, starts following European rules all over Europe, including central Europe," he said. "The sooner it happens, the better it will be for Gazprom itself, and for consumers in Europe."

Prime Minister Kubilius also rejected claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that the EU was forcing Russia and Russian major Gazprom to subsidise Eastern Europe at a cost to Russian interests.

Speaking on Sunday, President Putin said that the EU had unfairly shifted its responsibilities to those countries onto Russia.

"The EU subsidises the economies of Eastern European countries," he said at a press conference. "Now it seems someone in the EU has decided to shift part of the burden, some of the subsidies, onto us. United Europe wants to preserve its political influence but it wants us to pay for it. This is not constructive."

Lithuanian Prime Minister Kubilius yesterday rejected those claims, however, saying that Russia was still trying to hold onto the monopoly of supply it enjoyed in the Soviet era.

"The concern among Russian leaders demonstrates that the practice of Gazprom in supplying gas to central Europe, where it has had monopolistic rights since Soviet times, does not comply with European fair competition rules," he said.

"The result of the EU probe should be that Gazprom follows the same rules as Norwegian or North Sea gas suppliers. I don't hear Norwegian gas suppliers complaining about European rules."