The European Commission announced it issued the Decision approving the commitments proposed by Transgaz in the AT investigation. 40335, to resolve concerns about a possible breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position.

The decision confirms the removal of the concerns of the European Commission and ends the investigation in this case, without ascertaining the existence of any breach by the company and implicitly without imposing any fine, Transgaz said in a press release.

“We are convinced that this decision is a definite proof of strengthening the trust relationship between the company and the European Commission and also a measure that indicates to all the participants in the internal and Union natural gas market, to the investors and to all the stakeholders, that Transgaz SA is a stable, transparent, professional and reliable business partner, a company in which the business model is based on the best practices of corporate governance”, the company transmits.

The Commission’s concerns

The Commission announced a formal investigation in June 2017 to assess whether Transgaz, the state-controlled natural gas transmission system operator in Romania, infringed EU antitrust rules by restricting exports of natural gas from Romania. In particular, the Commission was concerned that Transgaz may have carried out such restrictions by:

• underinvesting in or delaying construction of infrastructure for gas exports,
• interconnection tariffs for gas exports that made exports commercially unviable,
• using unfounded technical arguments as a pretext for restricting exports.

These restrictions may have maintained or created barriers to the cross-border flow of natural gas from Romania, one of the EU’s largest natural gas producers, to Hungary and Bulgaria, contrary to the objective of an integrated Energy Union where energy flows freely across borders directed by competitive forces and based on the best possible use of resources.

The commitments

Transgaz SA is the technical operator of the Romanian National Transport System and is responsible for its operation under conditions of quality, safety, economic efficiency and environmental protection. Following the opening of the formal investigation, Transgaz offered commitments to address the Commission’s concerns. The Commission then consulted market participants to verify whether the proposed commitments would remove the competition concerns identified by the Commission.

In light of the market test, Transgaz has made some amendments to its proposed commitments. The final commitments will ensure that market participants can access significant volumes of export capacities via the interconnection points between Romania and neighbouring Member States. More specifically, Transgaz has committed:

• to make available minimum export capacities of 1.75 billion cubic meters per year at the interconnection point between Romania and Hungary (Csanádpalota). This capacity is equivalent to around one sixth of Hungary’s annual gas consumption;
• to make available minimum export capacities totaling 3.7 billion cubic meters per year at two interconnection points between Romania and Bulgaria (Giurgiu/Ruse and Negru Vodă I/Kardam). This capacity covers more than half of Bulgaria and Greece’s annual gas consumption;
• to ensure that its tariff proposals to the Romanian national energy regulator (ANRE) will not discriminate between export and domestic tariffs in order to avoid interconnection tariffs that would make exports commercially unviable;
• to refrain from using any other means of hindering exports.

The final commitments provide for significant additional capacity compared to the market-tested commitments, in particular to Hungary, by including capacities envisaged for the Romanian section of the first phase of the Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria (“BRUA”) gas pipeline project. As a result, Transgaz’ participation in this project will also be subject to legally binding deadlines.

The commitments will remain in force until 31 December 2026. A trustee will be in charge of monitoring the implementation and compliance with the commitments.

The Commission has concluded that the amended commitments address the identified competition concerns and therefore has made them legally binding on Transgaz. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Transgaz has committed to make available capacities at interconnection points for increased natural gas exports from Romania to Hungary and Bulgaria. This will promote the free flow of gas at competitive prices in South Eastern Europe and is a further step towards a single European energy market. Consumers across the region will benefit from greater security of supply of a key transition fuel towards the ultimate objective of an emissions free energy mix, in line with the European Green Deal.”