Moscow Calls for Fair Play in WTO Energy Claim Against EU – Russian Official

BRUSSELS, May 14 (RIA Novosti) – By filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the EU’s Third Energy Package, Russia simply demands justice, the deputy chairman of the energy committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament said Wednesday.

“The Russian side wants justice and implementation of those EU obligations implied by the Russian investments in infrastructural projects,” Pavel Zavalny said during a conference on EU-Russian energy cooperation in Brussels.

Introduced in 2009, the Third Energy Package is an attempt to liberalize the EU’s regional electricity and gas market and to guard against vertical integration. According to the European Commission, this will boost competition and allow new players to enter the market and decrease energy prices.

In early May, Russia requested talks with the European Union on the initiative, marking a possible step toward WTO dispute settlement. The request revolves around a number of concerns, on the grounds that the discriminatory policy framework could push Russian firms to sell stakes, cede market share and give up market competition.

Russia is against the move, saying that the European Commission is trying to control the market and make Russian energy giant Gazprom switch long-term contracts of Russian gas to the so-called spot rate.