Complaint from Hungary brings EC probe into Romania’s gas market

The European Commission’s General Directorate for Competition (DG Competition) started its investigation into Romania’s gas market following a complaint lodged by a company in Hungary, according to sources in the energy sector, cited by local Agerpres.

“The European Commission is set against Transgaz because the company has been postponing for many years the investment that would make possible the export of gas from Romania to Hungary, through the Arad-Szeged pipeline,” according to the sources.

The investigation started from a complaint on the fact that Romania doesn’t export to Hungary the cheap gases it produces, and this means blocking the free movement of goods within the community area. At the moment, the Arad-Szeged pipeline only allows gas imports from Hungary to Romania, not the other way around. Romanian gas carrier Transgaz plans to make investments to allow gas transit in both ways.

On June 6, European Commission officials carried out unannounced inspections at the offices of local companies Romgaz, Transgaz, and OMV Petrom. They are suspected of having participated in an agreement to block the gas export from Romania to other EU member states.

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