Policies on trade and competition have become a new field of international conflict and the European Commission (EC) has shown its willingness to use them as a weapon. Yesterday, the EC sent a Statement of Objections to Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom for its alleged abuse of market power in Central and Eastern European gas markets. It is the next step in an antitrust case that was first opened in August 2012. In an initial response, Gazprom states that the claims of the EC are unsubstantiated. Of course, in the current political climate it is difficult to see this as …read more
Source: Brookings