Competition Commissioner Pledges Continued Efforts Against Unfair Business Practices

European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager reiterated on Thursday that Brussels will continue its crack down on energy companies that stifle competition or use gas as a geopolitical weapon. 

“Coordination can be improved by … acting decisively against energy companies that harm rivals, block energy flows from one EU country to another, or threaten to close the tap can help deter others” Vestager said during her speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.  

Vestager spoke about European effort to create an Energy Union, and a Digital Single Market. Her remarks seemed targeted to Gazprom and, more outspokenly, to Google.  

In relation to the Energy Union, she stressed the importance of interconnections and related investments, a coordination of national policies, and “unfair business practices.”

She remarked that the European Commission already took an active step in this direction, deciding against incumbents that abuse their dominant position.  

“We will certainly continue those efforts in the years to come” the European Union's competition chief concluded.