Statement of OAO “Gazprom” with respect to the adoption of “statement of objections” by the European Commission under the antitrust investigation

On April 22, 2015 the European Commission published a press release on its official website, according to which the European Commission adopted a “statement of objections” in the course of ongoing antitrust investigation of OAO “Gazprom” activity in the European Union (EU).
Statement of OAO “Gazprom” with respect to the adoption of “statement of objections” by the European Commission under the antitrust investigation

OAO “Gazprom” considers the claims brought by the European Commission to be unsubstantiated. In the meantime, the adoption of the “statement of objections” by the European Commission is just one of the stages of the antitrust investigation and does not imply holding OAO “Gazprom” liable for any violation of the EU antitrust legislation.

Operation of Gazprom Group on the EU market, including applicable principles of gas pricing, meets the standards that are used by other producers and exporters of gas.

We expect that within the framework of the investigation our rights and interests arising from both EU law and international law will be adequately observed, and special attention will be paid to the fact that OAO “Gazprom”, being established outside of the jurisdiction of the EU, is a company which in accordance with the Russian legislation performs functions of public interest and has a status of strategic state-controlled entity.

OAO “Gazprom” expects the situation to be resolved in accordance with the agreement reached earlier between the Government of the Russian Federation and the European Commission on finding on the intergovernmental level of mutually acceptable solution on the issue of antitrust investigation.