According to Reuters article published on November 22, 2022, UOKiK will appeal a ruling that annulled fines it imposed on Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and five other companies responsible for building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the Polish regulator said on Monday.
UOKiK in 2020 fined Gazprom more than 29 billion zlotys ($6.33 billion) for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline without Warsaw's approval. It also imposed a total fine of 234 million zloty spread across five other companies involved in financing the project.
The watchdog on Monday said Poland's Court of Competition and Consumer Protection had overturned the decision.
"We will ask for a written justification for the judgment, and then we will appeal in this case," UOKiK's head, Tomasz Chrostny, said in a statement.
The other companies affected by the fines were Engie Energy (ENGIE.PA), Uniper (UN01.DE), OMV (OMVV.VI), Shell (SHEL.L) and Wintershall.
Uniper and Engie declined to comment. Gazprom, OMV and Wintershall did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
A Shell spokesperson said: "Shell announced at Q1 results it has fully impaired the value of the loan to NordStream-2 AG ($1,126 million pre-tax), following Board decisions on a phased withdrawal from Russian hydrocarbons. Shell was only ever a financial investor in NordStream 2, so we are pleased with the decision of Poland’s Competition Court on 21st November 2022."
Poland was a staunch opponent of the Nord Stream 2 project because it feared Russia could use energy supplies to exert influence over European countries.
"Today, the threats we talked about when presenting the decision are visible to the naked eye not only in Poland, but throughout Europe," Chrostny said.
Warsaw this month said it would take over Gazprom's 48% stake in Europolgaz, which owns the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline.
Poland in September imposed sanctions on Gazprom and said its assets would be frozen after sanctioning 50 Russian oligarchs and companies in April in a move to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February.
Russia at the same time halted gas exports to Poland after Warsaw refused to pay in roubles.
($1 = 4.5825 zlotys)
