BRUSSELS, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The European Commission said it consented to the proposed acquisition by Russian energy company Gazprom of Dutch and German natural gas interests.
The commission said there were no competition concerns related to Gazprom's ambitions for WINZ and Wintershall Services in the Netherlands or to its proposed claims over Wingas and WIEH of Germany.
"The commission found that the acquisition would not allow Gazprom to restrict customers' access to gas supplies, given the presence of sufficient alternative upstream suppliers," it said Wednesday.
Wintershall holds a 15 percent stake in the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline. Nord Stream, majority owned by Gazprom, sends gas to the European market after making landfall in Germany.
"The commission's investigation showed that most of the overlap between the parties' activities were largely pre-existent to the transaction and/or involved only a very limited degree of integration," the commission's statement read.
None of the companies involved published statements about the details of the proposal or the commission's decision.
