Poland Looks for German Prices for Gas

Polish Treasury Minister Mikolaj Budzanowski has said that Poland should be paying Gazprom the same prices for gas as other countries in the EU, such as Germany.

Speaking to Polish radio station TVN CNBC on Monday, Minister Budzanowski said that it was unfair that Poland was expected to pay higher prices for gas from neighbour Russia since it was part of the European Union.

"Our Russian gas price should be brought in line with the market, brought down to European levels," Minister Budzanowski commented "We shouldn't pay more than, say, a German consumer."

Polish energy company PGNiG has been locked into arbitration with Gazprom in a bid to force the price of gas imports down to meet similar levels to other Gazprom customers. The aim of this arbitration, Minister Budzanowski said, was to force Gazprom to treat PGNiG and Poland like its peers.

"We are in the European Union and we should be treated like the Germans, French and Dutch gas offtakers," the Platts news agency reports him as saying.

Earlier this month, deputy chief executive of Gazprom Alexander Medvedev said that the company expected to reach an accord with PGNiG presently.

"I’m sure we’re nearing the end of negotiations and that the price will be corrected lower," Rzeczpospolita Daily quoted him as saying. "We instructed the experts together to complete the negotiation process before the end of the European soccer championship (UEFA Euro 2012)."

The dispute continues against the backdrop of news earlier this week that E.ON AG had settled its contract pricing re-negotitaions with Gazprom.

However, so far an agreement has been reached, with the final date of Euro 2012 having elapsed on Sunday 1st July. 

Speaking on Monday, Minister Budzanowski did not express confidence that an agreement would be reached soon, despite Mr. Medvedev's reassurances.

"This isn't just 'some arbitration'," the Dow Jones news agency reports him as saying. "It is one of the most important cases conducted currently by a Polish company against a foreign one."

The dispute continues despite news earlier tis week that E.ON AG had settles its gas contract pricing re-negotiations with Gazprom.