Engie fined by Polish regulator over Nord Stream 2

French energy group ENGIE has been fined by Poland's anti-monopoly watchdog, UOKiK, in relation to an investigation into the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

UOKiK warned three years ago that the project would be in breach of competition rules and slapped a penalty of 172-million zlotys (€40-million) on the energy firm.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline will carry gas from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea and has provoked deep divisions within the EU. Poland is one of the project's fiercest critics, arguing that it will deepen European dependence on Russian gas.

UOKiK chairman, Marek Niechcial, said that ENGIE, one of five European companies funding the Nord Stream 2 project, had refused to share information relating to its project with Gazprom, the state-owned Russian gas group which is leading the project.

“The company persistently and groundlessly refused to send us the documents and materials we had requested,” said Michal Holeksa, UOKiK’s deputy chairman. “This caused a significant delay in our activities relating to the financing of the construction of Nord Stream 2.”

An ENGIE spokesperson said that the French energy group would appeal against the UOKiK decision.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline would potentially double the amount of gas it sends to Germany, bypassing Poland and Ukraine, and successive Polish governments have argued that it poses a serious threat to European energy security.

In 2018, UOKiK launched proceedings against the six companies involved in the project - Gazprom, ENGIE, OMV, Uniper, Wintershall and Shell - on the suspicion that they were going ahead without approval from the watchdog.

UOKiK says it is continuing its analysis of information from other companies involved in Nord Stream 2. 

“Today’s decision with the fine is only one step in this project,” said Niechcial.

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