EU happier with Polish gas deal

Poland moves to assuage European Commission’s concerns about effects of gas deal with Russia.

A dispute between the European Commission and Poland over a Polish-Russian natural-gas deal appears to be closer to settlement after Poland promised to apply EU energy-market regulations in full.

Günther Oettinger, the European commissioner for energy, met Polish officials in Warsaw yesterday (4 November), after which he said that “we managed to ensure that the inter-governmental agreement between Russia and Poland was brought into line with EU law”.

An EU official said today that Polish authorities will provide Oettinger with written assurances that the parties to the accord will abide by EU internal-market rules applicable to energy providers and operators. The assurances would supplement the text of the deal.

The Commission opened infringement proceedings against Poland in July because of concerns that a supply deal between the Russian gas giant Gazprom and the Polish distributor Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo would shut out competitors.

Parts of the original deal, which was reached last year, prevented Poland from reselling surplus gas to others. The Commission said this provision violated “non-discriminatory” elements of EU energy-market regulations.

An EU official said the changes made to the deal will mean the Commission could lift its threat of legal action “when we see national measures are being taken” to implement the changes.

The Commission has asked for an independent operator to take up the management of the pipeline and for the national regulator to decide what prices are charged.

Under the deal, Gaz-System, a Polish pipeline operator, will be responsible for agreeing transmission contracts.

The agreement, which will ensure that gas transported via Russia’s Yamal pipeline to Germany will be transferred onward to Poland, is expected to increase Russian gas deliveries to Poland to 10 billion cubic meters a year.

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