European Union opens antitrust case against Gazprom amid worsening EU-Russia relations

The European Union is opening an antitrust case against Russia's state-controlled Gazprom energy giant amid worsening relations between Brussels and Moscow.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Wednesday that Gazprom's behavior in central and eastern European member states, where it sometimes almost fully controls the gas market, amounts to an abuse of its dominant position.

Vestager said she is concerned that Gazprom imposes contractual obligations "preventing gas from flowing from certain Central Eastern European countries to others, hindering cross-border competition" and allowing the multinational to charge unfair prices.

The move comes at a time when the EU has already imposed economic and political sanctions on Russia for its involvement in the violence in eastern Ukraine.

Gazprom has 12 weeks to react to Wednesday's EU allegations.