Brussels, 1 December 2022
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the compensation granted by Lithuania to Litgas UAB (‘Litgas’) for supplying a mandatory quantity of liquefied natural gas (‘LNG’) to the LNG terminal in Klaipėda between 2016 and 2018 is in line with EU State aid rules. The in-depth investigation follows the General Court’s partial annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the compensation to Litgas for the period in question.
In November 2013, the Commission approved a Lithuanian measure to support the construction and operation of an LNG terminal in the Klaipėda Seaport. In October 2018, the Commission approved two amendments to the measure notified by the Lithuanian authorities: (i) the 2016 amendments covering the period from 2016 to 2018 and (ii) the 2019 amendments covering the period from 2019 to 2024
On September 2021, the General Court partially annulled on procedural grounds the 2018 Commission decision as regards the 2016 amendments but uphold it as regards the 2019 amendments.
Following the judgment, the Commission has re-examined the compatibility of the 2016 amendments and has decided to open an in-depth investigation under EU State aid rules. The Commission will now investigate further to determine whether the amount of compensation received by Litgas for the period 2016-2018, in particular regarding the boil-off and balancing costs, is in line with the SGEI Framework.
A press release is available online.
Source – EU Commission