The memorandum proposes that Gazprom, in exchange for a share of the BBL (Balgzand Bacton line), will provide Gasunie with a share in the North European Gas Pipeline (NEGP) that Gazprom is to construct under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. In a joint statement, the two companies said the memorandum would serve as a basis towards reciprocal stakeholding in the NEGP and the BBL. The companies' joint statement said the two would also address other aspects of access to infrastructure that will enable additional flow of Russian gas to the NW European market. "The UK is a very interesting market. We are considering strategic partnerships in the British market, and we are also considering buying assets in Britain," Gazprom's chief executive Alexei Miller earlier told reporters at the World Gas Conference in Amsterdam. His announcement comes just days after the UK's Chancellor, Gordon Brown, indicated that any bid by Gazprom for Centrica, which was regarded to be the group's most likely move, would be treated as a political rather than a commercial move. At the conference, Russian energy minister Viktor Khristenko is reported to have replied that any intervention by EU states if Russian firms sought to buy their European rivals would be regarded "as unfriendly". Gazprom's expansion plans have raised concerns in Europe after the company briefly stopped supplies to Ukraine during a gas price dispute in January. The dispute prompted the European Union, which gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, to voice concerns that the continent is relying too heavily on one major supplier. The BBL pipeline is currently being built by Gasunie together with Eon. It will link Balgzand on the NW Dutch coast to Bacton on the Norfolk coast in eastern England, and will reach full capacity in March next year.