Gazprom Cannot Seek Compensation from Bulgaria for South Stream Termination - EU Commissioner
The European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, said on Thursday that Russia's Gazprom cannot seek any damages from its Bulgarian partners following the termination of the South Stream gas pipeline project. Gazprom may have used its market position in gas supply in Bulgaria to obtain favourable treatment concerning gas infrastructure, Vestager said in a statement posted on the website of the European Commission. In December 2014, Russia abandoned - over objections from the European Commission - its plans to build the South Stream gas pipeline designed to carry Russian gas under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and from there to central and southern Europe but said it is ready to build another pipeline system to Turkey instead (TurkStream).The EC has adopted a decision imposing on Gazprom a set of obligations to significantly change the way the company operates in Central and Eastern European gas markets and to the benefit of millions of European consumers who rely on gas to heat their homes and cook their food, Vestager said.