BRUSSELS, May 09 /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said EU governments and energy companies are not happy with the idea of uniform price for Russian gas.
"EU Energy Commissioner [Gunther] Oettinger's idea to fix a uniform gas price for all EU members does not make EU governments or companies very happy," Chizhov told Russian reporters.
"Also, it contradicts the entire philosophy of the EU energy policy, about which Mr Oettinger makes constant and pretentious declarations concerning the need of competition on the European market," the envoy said. "That is, he is opposed to Gazprom's monopoly yet support the monopoly of the European Commission. That European consumers will find this price advantageous is far from certain."
"I believe this idea is odd and illogical and that it contradicts the EU's energy policy," he added.
The speculation about supplies of liquefied gas to Europe, as well as shale gas from the United States, is just a show, Chizhov said.
"I'm confident that its price will be at least 30% higher than that of Russian gas." The USA will not forget its own interests. Large supplies or liquefied gas to the world market will result in an increase in gas prices in the USA, the envoy said noting that he doubted that the USA needed it.