The European Commission plans to refer Poland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for imposing restrictive requirements under its gas storage legislation on firms involved in cross-border gas trade.
Poland's storage law obliges gas-importing companies to maintain stocks covering 30 days of imports that can be delivered within 40 days to the Polish grid. Importers can also keep inventories outside the country, but must also hold enough transport capacity to import all this gas within 40 days. The law prohibits the trade of this booked capacity on the secondary market and excludes the application of the "use it or lose it" principle, the commission said.
The commission's decision to refer Poland to the ECJ is the latest step of an infringement process initiated in 2018, following its own investigation and several objections from market participants. The Polish government planned to amend the gas storage law in summer, but Poland is yet to submit the law for adoption and "the Polish authorities have not communicated any updated timetable for its adoption", the commission said.
EU energy traders association Efet and various companies have criticised the laws for several years.
"While everyone would surely prefer a quick, conciliatory solution to the problem — such as going forward with the amendment proposed back in April — we hope that this decision will help prioritising the reform of the storage obligations by the Polish authorities," Efet head of Polish affairs Pawel Lont told Argus.
Poland risks distorting competition on the domestic market as well as jeopardising security of gas supply through a possible increase in congestion at interconnection points, the commission added.
