Gazprom deputy chief calls EU a ‘thief’

  • 2012-09-11

BRUSSELS - Russian gas giant Gazprom deputy head, Alexander Medvedev, on Monday became the latest Russian heavyweight to lambast the EU's price-fixing probe, EU Observer writes.

He cited a Russian proverb "a thief's hat tends to catch fire" and said Brussels' head "should be burning."

As reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday condemned as "unconstructive" an EU anti-trust probe against Russia's energy giant Gazprom, saying Moscow was no longer prepared to subsidize Eastern Europe, as AFP informed.

Last week, the European Commission reported that it had launched an official antitrust investigation on Gazprom regarding three allegedly anti-competitive practices in Central and Eastern Europe.

The European Commission suspects that Gazprom has abused its role as the dominant gas supplier in eight EU member states, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria.