Energy, Energy Market, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Lithuania

Grybauskaite underlined during the meeting that "real solutions rather than symbolic decisions were needed in fighting Gazprom's non-transparent monopoly in the European gas market", her press officer said in a press release.

"The EU has to eliminate gas price differences based on geopolitical reasons, while the obligations of Gazprom to its customers must cover indemnity for damage due to opaque trade," it said.

After the European Commission completed its probe into Gazprom's alleged abuse of its dominant position in the Central and Eastern European gas market, the Russian group promised in March to remove barriers to the free flow of Russian gas in the region and to supply it at competitive prices. The Russian gas monopoly also pledged to allow customers to renegotiate gas prices in their long-term contracts and to enable gas swap transactions.

Gazprom aims to avoid a fine of up to 8 bln euros. It is estimated that Lithuania suffered about 1.5 bln euros in losses as a result of Gazprom's alleged unfair pricing practices. However, it is said that Russian group's current commitments are insufficient to compensate Lithuania for the damage.