The European Commission said today it had charged state-owned Gaz de France and German utility E.ON with illegal cartel activity over a gas pipeline contract.
"The European Commission can confirm that it has sent statements of objections to Gaz de France and E.ON concerning alleged collusion through a market-sharing agreement relating to a gas pipeline, whereby GDF sells no gas in Germany and E.ON sells no gas in France," the European Union executive's competition spokesman, Jonathan Todd, said in a statement.
"The Commission's preliminary view is that this market-sharing agreement is in violation of EC Treaty rules banning restrictive business practices and cartels."