EU probes 20 European gas firms

The European Commission has raided the offices of 20 gas firms across five countries as part of an inquiry into anti-competition practices.
Germany's RWE, France's Gaz de France, Austria's OMV and Belgium's Fluxys said they were raided. Reports said firms in Italy and Belgium were also involved.

The Commission said it was an initial step in "investigations into suspected anti-competitive practices".

Separately, the Commission said it also raided power companies in Hungary.

Fair deal

The EU has recently expressed concern about the need for more competition in energy markets across Europe, after a cold winter in which political problems led to supplies being disrupted.

In recent months, the Commission has looked into a number of consumer issues, including mobile phone charges paid by users when they are abroad.

Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said the latest inquiry had been launched to find out whether the companies were guilty of "restrictive business practices and/or abuse of a dominant market position".

He explained that the Commission was particularly worried about the way firms granted, or restricted, access to pipelines.

Mr Todd stressed that just because a company was raided, that "does not mean that it is guilty of any anti-competitive behaviour".

OMV spokesman Thomas Huemer said: "We are, of course, co-operating with the authorities but cannot say anything beyond that."



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