November 12 () –
The European Commission has given the green light to the disbursement of 225.6 million euros in aid for the subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom in Germany, Gazprom Germania, thus clearing the way for the takeover of the company by the authorities.
The company has been renamed Guaranteed Energy for Europe (SEFE) and will now be under the direct control of Germany’s regulator for the electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and rail markets, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).
The Commission has published a press release confirming that Gazprom Export LCC will be replaced by SEFE “in order to safeguard the security of gas supply to the German economy”.
This measure is related to the Temporary Crisis Framework, a series of initiatives that allow companies to receive financial support to guarantee their solvency in the midst of the energy crisis derived from the war in Ukraine.
The company suffered significant losses after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It controlled 14 percent of the German gas market and 28 percent of stored gas.
In April the German government appointed a manager due to legal uncertainties and failure to comply with procedures in order to guarantee supply. In mid-June, the government began injecting billions of dollars to avoid bankruptcy.
Now the European Commission validates this intervention “because it is necessary, appropriate and proportionate” in the face of a “serious disturbance” in the economy of a Member State, although it conditions it to the adoption of “appropriate measures to limit any potential distortion of competition”.
