What goes on in Poland on the 8th of October.
UOKiK imposed a PLN 29 bln fine on Gazprom
The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) imposed a fine of over PLN 29 billion on Gazprom and over PLN 234 million on the other 5 companies participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The imposition of the maximum fine is related to the completion of the anti-monopoly proceedings on the concentration in the construction of Nord Stream 2. The proceedings showed that despite the lack of consent to the creation of a joint venture, six companies (participants of the Nord Stream 1 consortium – ed.) Concluded a number of agreements on financing Nord Stream 2. Agreements concluded between the participants concerned both financing and allowances, e.g. the possibility of interfering in the activities of Nord Stream 2. Engie Energy engaged in Nord Stream 2 is to pay over PLN 55.5 million, Uniper almost PLN 30 million, OMV 87.7 million PLN, Shell 30.2 million PLN, and Wintershall 30.7 million PLN.
Moreover, the President of UOKiK ordered the parties to terminate the agreements concluded to finance Nord Stream 2. This is to allow the restoration of competition from before the concentration. The companies have 30 days from receiving the decision to terminate the contracts, if the decision is appealed to the court, from the date it becomes final.
– I have not found any extenuating circumstances. The actions of the six companies had a negative impact on competition in the natural gas market in Poland. The launch of Nord Stream 2 will threaten the continuity of natural gas supplies to Poland, it is also highly probable that the prices of the raw material that will be charged to Polish consumers will increase – said Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK, at a press conference. – Earlier, Engie and Gazprom appealed against the decision of UOKiK. As for Gazprom, we are at the stage of submitting documents to the court. These are huge amounts of documents – added Chróstny.
– We believe that if this judgment becomes final, Gazprom will pay. However, if there are difficulties, we will use all the tools in Polish and international law to collect the debt. All of these entities have assets to enforce this penalty – said Tomasz Chróstny.