EU: Poland’s PGNiG urges tough stance in antitrust case vs Gazprom

State-run Polish oil and gas company PGNiG urged the European Commission to take a tough stance in its antitrust investigation into Gazprom, saying the Russian company should have to pay a fine and sell assets.

On 13 March, the Commission published Gazprom’s commitments to end a five-year antitrust case and avoid heavy fines.

The case was opened after Lithuania blew the whistle on Gazprom’s anti-competitive practices.

EU competition regulators said in March that concessions made by Gazprom following charges it has abused its dominant position in central and eastern European gas supplies should ease concerns of market abuse.

That provisional deal moved closer to ending one of Brussels’ longest-running antitrust probes, which could have seen Gazprom fined up to 10% of annual global turnover.

However, the deal is subject to feedback from some EU states and market players, and Poland, which imports most of the gas it consumes from Russia, said in March it would use “all legal means” to block the proposed settlement.

Full Content: Euro News

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