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Signpost to the entrance to the landfall facility of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline in Lubmin in northern Germany (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
Photo: ODD ANDERSEN / AFP
The Polish competition watchdogs fined the Russian Gazprom Group in connection with the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
The company should pay 29 billion zlotys (around 6.5 billion euros) because it built the pipeline without the authority's approval, the UOKiK supervisory authority announced on Wednesday.
The remaining five financial partners, including the Düsseldorf utility Uniper and the Austrian OMV Group, are expected to pay 234 million zlotys (52 million euros).
Gazprom and Uniper rejected the allegations.
Completion of the pipeline would increase the dependency on Russian gas supplies, said
Tomasz Chrostny
(35), President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).
Price increases threatened.
Photo: DPA
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USA versus German gas interests: These groups are involved in Nord Stream 2
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Poland has long been an opponent of the 1200-kilometer tube through which gas is to be transported from Siberia to Germany and Europe.
The UOKiK cartel watchdogs warned in 2016 that they believed that Nord Stream 2 could affect competition.
They had refused to approve the project company, in which the French company Engie, the British-Dutch company Shell and OMV from Austria are also involved as financial investors.
Then in 2018 the competition authority initiated antitrust proceedings.
A Gazprom representative said his group had not violated Polish competition law.
Gazprom will challenge the decision.
Uniper also rejected the allegations.
"The agreements concluded between the financial investors in the Nord Stream 2 project and Gazprom are financing agreements - not a joint venture," emphasized Uniper.
Financing agreements do not constitute a notifiable merger under Polish merger control law. There is no such precedent in the previous practice of the competition authorities, including UOKiK.
Uniper is examining an objection to the decision.
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German group under pressure: Uniper declares Nord Stream 2 to fail
The US is trying to stop the project with sanctions.
Most of the line has already been laid.
In December, the Swiss-Dutch installation company Allseas suspended its work due to the threat of US sanctions.
US President Donald Trump (74) accuses Germany of becoming dependent on Russian gas.
Proponents of the pipeline, on the other hand, argue that it increases energy security in Europe and ensures low energy prices, even compared to the more expensive liquid gas from the USA.
The poison attack on the Russian opposition politician
Alexej Navalny
(44)
recently caused additional discussions about the pipeline
.
Poland's Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki
(52) said last Thursday that the case of the poisoned Kremlin critic could not be viewed separately from the pipeline project.
Navalny himself has meanwhile called for the project to be stopped.
rei / Reuters / afp
