The Court of Appeal has nullified the decision by the head of the Competition and Consumer Protection Bureau to fine Gazprom and its five partners involved in Nord Stream 2, amounting to more than 29 billion złoty, according to a report in Puls Biznesu published on Thursday.
This marks the conclusion of a closed-door phase in which the Russian energy giant challenged the 2020 ruling issued by the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK).
– the report notes.
As described by the newspaper, the Court of Appeal rejected the chairman of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office Tomasz Chróstny’s appeal against the first-instance court’s verdict in Gazprom’s favor.
This development means that the head of the Polish antitrust agency no longer has legal effect from the challenged decision and it has effectively been set aside, according to the publication.
– the report continues.
The article recalls that the matter dates back to 2015, when the Competition and Consumer Protection Bureau received a request from six companies to authorize the creation of a joint venture to oversee the construction and operation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which runs from the Baltic coast of Russia toward the Greifswald area in Germany. In 2016, the agency raised objections to the concentration, arguing that the proposed transaction could restrict competition. The companies withdrew their merger application, but soon afterward an agreement to finance the gas pipeline was signed. The Competition and Consumer Protection Bureau then opened proceedings against Gazprom and the five contractors involved.
Unapproved concentration
According to the article, in 2020 Tomasz Chróstny determined that Gazprom had undertaken the pipeline project without the required consent from the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection, and he issued a decision imposing a fine totaling PLN 29 billion on Gazprom. The five contractors were fined a combined PLN 234 million: OMV PLN 87 million, Engie Energy PLN 55 million, Wintershall PLN 30 million, Shell PLN 30 million, and Uniper PLN 29 million. The punished parties challenged the decision, and the case was brought before the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection (SOKiK). In 2022, the court ruled in Gazprom’s favor and annulled the president’s decision.
The head of the office appealed. The appellate court sided with Gazprom and its five contractors, concluding that the initial ruling lacked grounds to be invalidated and that the decision met legal requirements. The appeal therefore nullified the previous judgment, and no fines will be imposed on the Nord Stream 2 builders.
The Court of Appeal refined the lower court ruling, determining that the president of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection did issue the decision within the bounds of the law. The court upheld the remaining portions of the first-instance ruling as well.
– Małgorzata Cieloch, spokesperson for the Competition and Consumer Protection Office, commented on the verdict, as quoted by Puls Biznesu.
She added that the court did not provide an oral justification for its decision, so the bureau awaits the written rationale before deciding on any further legal steps.
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mly/PAP
Source: wPolityce