font_preload
PL / EN
Polish Briefing 3 October, 2017 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: European Commission punished Lithuanian Railways for removing rails to Mažeikiai refinery

What goes on in Poland on the 3rd of October.

European Commission punished Lithuanian Railways for removing rails to Mažeikiai refinery

European Commission fined Lithuanian Railways for up to € 27 873 000 for breaking competition protection regulation. Lietuvos Geležinkeliai interfered with competition on rail goods transport market by removing a part of rails connecting Lithuania with Latvia.

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition said: – Lithuanian carrier used the fact that it controls domestic railways infrastructure to harm its competitors. European Union needs a well functioning rail goods transport market. Removing public public railways infrastructure to protect itself from competition is unacceptable and unprecedented.

Lithuanian Railways is an incumbent undertaking that belongs to Lithuanian state treasury. It is responsible for both transport and infrastructure.

Interfax: Poland and Germany will fight for regional gas market

Poland wants to be a gas hub for Central and Eastern Europe and may compete with Germany in those markets – says Danila Bochkarev, analyst at EastWest Institute.

– If we look at PGNiG’s strategy, we will see that the company relies on intersystem connections leading to Slovakia, further to Croatia and to Ukraine – said Bochkarev.

However, Germany is keen on markets in Eastern and Southern Europe. – Gas from Nord Stream 1 goes to Czech Republic through OPAL pipeline, and building Nord Stream 2 will probably enlarge gas transit from Gazprom through Germany to Czech Republic, Slovakia and further south – said Bochkarev.

As Interfax reports, even though Poland has a gas infrastructure that allows it become a gas hub, capacity limits of existing pipelines appear to be a serious obstacle.

Poland will ratify the Doha Amendment about limiting CO2 emissions

Poland started ratification process of Doha Amendment of the Kyoto Protocol – informed Polish Press Agency. By the same Poland will confirm at the United Nations that it will reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent until 2020. Two years ago president Andrzej Duda vetoed a bill in this case.

– Linking Republic of Poland with an international treaty that influences the economy by additional duties and causes social and economic costs should be preceded by detailed legal and economic analyses. In opinion of the President of Republic of Poland, those effects have not been sufficiently clarified during legislative works – claimed the communique of the Chancellery of the President  back then.

Deputies of PiS said that the Doha Amendment is an attempt to sanction EU’s climate-energy package in the United Nations law.

Energa got millions for an intelligent energy network project

Energa-Operator received over PLN 166 million for investments in intelligent energy network. The full cost of the project is estimated at 240.6 million zlotys, Energa said in a statement.

“This is a tremendous support when the construction of modern power grids becomes a requirement of the time,” Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski said in statement.

The smart grid includes installing energy measures that include smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficient resources.