The General Court of the EU overturned the European Commission’s decision to fine Bulgarian Energy Holding 77 million euros for violating competition rules.
According to the ruling, the EC did not properly prove that the BEH group abused its dominant position on the gas supply market in Bulgaria by not granting third parties access to the Romanian gas pipeline, through which natural gas was mainly imported at the time.
The case was brought by BEH after the European Commission ruled on a complaint by gas supplier Overgas against BEH’s subsidiaries Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz for blocking competitors’ access to key gas infrastructure and thus depriving consumers of choice providers. However, according to the General Court of the EU, it is not clear that the lack of access to the Romanian route is at the root of the difficulties faced by third parties who want to gain access to the said gas pipeline to supply gas from Russia to Bulgaria.
Thus, all the irregularities that Bulgartransgaz may have hypothetically committed in connection with the gas transmission network and the gas storage facility at Chiren cannot constitute a violation of the competition rules of the EU, since no company could enter the Bulgarian gas market, without access to the Romanian gas pipeline.
The General Court also accepted that the EC had not allowed the BEH to fully develop the position about the offence of which she is accused and thus violated its right to defence.
