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May 25, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 4
The Commission's decision can also be seen as an indirect proof of how low Poland – which stood as CEE advocate on the issue – has fallen in the ranks of EU diplomacy after the populist Law and Justice (PiS) government took over in 2015 and has warred with Brussels on a number of issues since. At the same time, Warsaw has bragged it was "rising from our knees" in terms of interna- tional position.
"We are disappointed that the long term anti-trust proceedings against Gazprom ended without im- posing fines, lack of compensation for aggrieved companies, and only marginal concessions from the Russian monopolist," Poland's deputy Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski told PAP.
He also said that the decision was worrying "in the context of aggressive Russian policy towards the EU and its member states" and that it hinted at EU's agreeing to a "long-standing Russian practice of using Gazprom as an external policy tool towards CEE member states of the EU."
"It’s a pity. But still it’s a step forward," Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis told reporters in Vilnius, according to Reuters.
As a broader policy, Warsaw and the Baltic states have been working to reduce its dependence on Russian gas supplies by buying gas from Qatar via an LNG terminal and working with Denmark to build the Baltic Pipe to pump Norwegian gas. Gazprom predictably said the decision was to its liking.
"We are satisfied with the commitments decision announced today by the European Commission
in relation to the settlement of the investigation," Gazprom deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said in a statement. "We believe that today's deci-
sion is the most reasonable outcome for the well- functioning of the entire European gas market."
The Commission charged Gazprom in 2015 with using its market dominance to overcharge CEE countries and blocking cross-border gas sales in order to segment the CEE market to control what the Commission said was "excessive" pricing.
The charges were the effect of the Commission's investigation into Gazprom's business in CEE that be- gan in 2011 after Lithuania filed a formal complaint.
Gazprom and the Russian government, which controls it, denied any wrongdoing, hinting that the case could be politically motivated. The rela- tionship between the EU and Russia has been at a low since 2014 when Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine, deteriorating further after the poi- soning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in London in March.
Russia also claimed that Gazprom’s contracts with CEE countries complied with EU regulations at the time, and questioning them now is retroac- tively applying new EU rules – the so-called Third Energy Package, adopted in 2009 – which Moscow finds unacceptable.
Gazprom still found itself under pressure, and in late 2016 tabled a set of measures to address the Commission’s concerns, most importantly, offering to allow cross-border sales. That fol- lowed hints from Brussels and Moscow that a settlement was possible to end the dispute.
The CEE governments – especially Poland and Lithuania – are now likely to renew their griev- ances with the Commission as disregarding the views of the eastern part of the bloc in the name of appeasing Russia.