Lithuania hails EU anti-trust raids on Gazprom

(VILNIUS) - Lithuania on Wednesday hailed European Union anti-trust raids against Russian gas giant Gazprom, saying the bloc was serious about crafting a united energy policy.

"Such an investigation, however it ends, is symbolically important and meaningful as the beginning of common energy policy," President Dalia Grybauskaite told reporters.

Lithuania has locked horns with Gazprom, its only gas supplier, over what it claims is unfair pricing -- a charge the Russian group denies.

Grybauskaite said that the anti-trust raids in 10 of the EU's 27 member states indicated that Gazprom's "activities are very similar everywhere."

"Finally, the European Commission and European institutions are starting to speak in unison about common European interests in energy," she said.

The European Commission -- the bloc's executive body -- had on Tuesday announced that officials "undertook unannounced inspections" at the premises of unidentified companies active in the supply, transmission and storage of natural gas.

It said the investigation focused on the supply of gas upstream "where, unilaterally or through agreements, competition may be hampered or delayed."

Gazprom confirmed that its German and Czech units, Gazprom Germania and Vemex, had been targeted.

"The companies will do their best to fulfill their contractual obligations towards their clients in full scale, while providing support to the EC officials," Gazprom said in a statement.

"Such inspections are standard practice within the framework of EU competition rules and have been applied regularly to other leading European energy companies," it added.

Lithuania's gas-mains company Lietuvos Dujos confirmed it had also been raided.

Gazprom owns a 37.1 percent stake in Lietuvos Dujos, while Germany's EON has 38.9 percent and the government 17.7 percent.

In January, Lithuania filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging Gazprom was abusing its market clout.

Lithuania's reliance on Russian gas is a legacy of five decades of Soviet rule, which ended in 1991. The nation of three million joined the EU in 2004.

Lithuania and other EU countries that formerly lay behind the Iron Curtain have long pushed for better energy-policy coordination within the bloc because they lack muscle alone.

Home to half a billion consumers, the EU imports 60 percent of its gas requirements -- the majority of it from Russia.

Lithuania's Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius underlined that Tuesday's raids were initiated by the EU's Directorate General for Competition, which received Vilnius's complaint, but could not comment if there was a direct link.

He also pointed to past moves against US corporation Microsoft, which resulted in huge anti-trust fines.

"Any company, American or Russian, must comply with fair competition rules in the EU. If they are violated, EU has the means to protect the rights of consumers," he said Wednesday.

Neighbouring Latvia's mains company Latvijas Gaze said it was also targeted. Gazprom owns 34 percent of it, Russian firm Itera has 16 percent and EON 47 percent.

EON and fellow-German group RWE confirmed they were also raided -- the latter at its German base and its unit in the Czech Republic -- as did Austria's OMV.