Piebalgs: “Gazprom is not Microsoft”

EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs struck a more conciliatory tone in regards to Gazprom and competition at a conference today:

“Do we treat Gazprom as we treat Microsoft? Yes we do. The difference is that Microsoft has 100 percent of the market,” Piebalgs told a conference in the Latvian capital Riga. “That is why we do not take measures against Gazprom, there is no need. They do not play a big enough role in the market.”

Really? This contrasts with comments Piebalgs made earlier during the unveiling of the new EU energy policy package. In other news, some think that the Putin-Merkel meeting will focus in part on Russia asking Germany to defend Gazprom’s interests.