[JURIST] Ukraine’s high court on Tuesday dismissed [Sputnik International report] an appeal by Gazprom [corporate website] finding it “groundless.” The court decided to uphold [Ukraine Today report] the USD $3.4 billion fine against the company handed down by Ukraine’s Anti-Monopoly Committee, which alleged that the company abused its monopoly position in the gas transit market. Gazprom appealed the fine, and the Supreme Court [official website] refused to open the case.

Last year, the European Commission issued [JURIST report] a Statement of Objection to Gazprom, accusing the Russian gas giant of abusing its position as the dominant source of gas in Central and Eastern European in breach of EU anti-trust rules. According to the Commission, “Gazprom wass the dominant gas supplier in a number of Central and Eastern European countries. Its market share well above 50% and in some cases up to 100% in these markets.” The European Commission believes Gazprom is breaking EU antitrust rules by implementing a strategy to “partition Central and Eastern European” with the goal of perpetuating unfair pricing policies in EU member states. Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibited the abuse of a dominant market position, which may affect trade between Member States.