The European Commission denied Wednesday that raids on gas companies accused of price-fixing were politically motivated, saying they were solely a matter of competition law.
Investigators returned for a second day to the offices in Berlin of Russian-owned Gazprom Germania to gather evidence.
They also continued examining files at the offices of German companies Eon Ruhrgas and RWE.
The Energy Ministry in Moscow issued a statement demanding that no harm be done to the rights and interests of the Russian owners. It said they were entitled to protection under international agreements on investment and on gas supplies.
Gazprom itself said it was cooperating with the inquiry and was open to dialogue with the Commission.
A spokeswoman for Joaquin Almunia, commissioner for competition issues in Brussels, replied that the Commission would not let itself be influenced by the bad mood of any one company. It would intervene wherever it suspected breaches of competition law.
Gas companies in 10 countries were raided Tuesday. The Commission said it suspects the companies divvied up markets among themselves, blocked competitors from accessing pipelines and possibly drove up prices.
