(Bloomberg) — Poland’s antitrust watchdog slapped a $7.6 billion fine on Gazprom PJSC over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, opening a new front in the bitter political battle over the controversial gas project.The regulator said the Baltic Sea project impedes competition and “violates the interests of consumers.” It gave Gazprom and its partners 30 days to terminate financing agreements to “restore” competition. The fine amounts to 10% of the company’s annual revenues, the maximum allowed penalty.“The construction of Nord Stream 2 is a clear violation of market regulations,” Tomasz Chrostny, the head of the UOKiK regulator, said in Warsaw on Wednesday. Gas prices for consumers must be “the result of fair competition, and once Nord Stream 2 is operational, it’s likely that gas prices will increase and there’s risk of interruption of supplies.”Poland has long opposed the expansion of the gas link directly connecting Russia to Germany, Europe’s biggest market for the fuel, arguing it would deepen Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.Gazprom could not provide immediate comment. Its shares dropped 0.8% in Moscow. The Russian company’s partners in the gas pipeline were also fined 234 million zloty by UOKiK.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month that his government is stepping up pressure on Germany to halt the project following the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.While Gazprom owns the Baltic Sea pipeline project, half of its 9.5 billion-euro ($11.2 billion) cost is being financed by Engie, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Germany’s Uniper SE, Wintershall AG and Austria’s OMV AG.(Updates with comments from the regulator, details, from first paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.,
(Bloomberg) — Poland’s antitrust watchdog slapped a $7.6 billion fine on Gazprom PJSC over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, opening a new front in the bitter political battle over the controversial gas project.The regulator said the Baltic Sea project impedes competition and “violates the interests of consumers.” It gave Gazprom and its partners 30 days to terminate financing agreements to “restore” competition. The fine amounts to 10% of the company’s annual revenues, the maximum allowed penalty.“The construction of Nord Stream 2 is a clear violation of market regulations,” Tomasz Chrostny, the head of the UOKiK regulator, said in Warsaw on Wednesday. Gas prices for consumers must be “the result of fair competition, and once Nord Stream 2 is operational, it’s likely that gas prices will increase and there’s risk of interruption of supplies.”Poland has long opposed the expansion of the gas link directly connecting Russia to Germany, Europe’s biggest market for the fuel, arguing it would deepen Europe’s dependence on Russian energy.Gazprom could not provide immediate comment. Its shares dropped 0.8% in Moscow. The Russian company’s partners in the gas pipeline were also fined 234 million zloty by UOKiK.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month that his government is stepping up pressure on Germany to halt the project following the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny.While Gazprom owns the Baltic Sea pipeline project, half of its 9.5 billion-euro ($11.2 billion) cost is being financed by Engie, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Germany’s Uniper SE, Wintershall AG and Austria’s OMV AG.(Updates with comments from the regulator, details, from first paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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