Poland demands Nord Stream 2 case documents from Gazprom
The Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which previously fined the French company Engie Energy in connection with an investigation of the Nord Stream 2 project, has requested information from Gazprom. This was noted in a memorandum from Gazprom related to the launch of new eurobonds, reports RBC news agency.
“On January 15, 2020, Gazprom received a notice from the Polish committee on competition requesting information and documents for conducting an investigation,” the memorandum states. The document notes that Warsaw has previously threatened to impose fines of up to 10% of annual turnover on any company which fails to comply with the UOKiK’s demands.
In summer 2016, Gazprom and its project partners, which included French Engie, Austrian OMV, British-Dutch Shell and the German companies Uniper and Wintershall Dea, submitted an application to the UOKiK to create a joint enterprise for the construction of Nord Stream 2. The authorization of the Polish regulatory authority was required by EU legislation, even though the gas pipeline does not pass through Poland’s economic zone. The UOKiK rejected the application, saying that the project threatened to violate anti-monopoly law.
In May 2018, UOKiK announced that it was starting an investigation into Nord Stream 2’s investors. The office said that the financing of the pipeline’s construction contravened the UOKiK’s decision to ban the creation of a consortium for the realization of the project. Gazprom responded by objecting to the UOKiK’s position, and requested the termination of the Nord Stream 2 case in Poland.
In November 2019, the Polish anti-monopoly department fined Engie 172 million złoty, around $44 million, for “stubbornly refusing” to provide the requested documents on the company’s involvement in the Nord Stream 2 project.