EU court rejects Polish bid to stop Opal deal

EU court dismissed Poland and PGNiG's request to stop the deal, giving Gazprom bigger share in gas transit through the Opal pipeline. Back in 2009, the European Commission decided that 50 percent capacity of the Opal extension would be reserved for Gazprom and exempted from the EU law. The remaining half was freed up in 2016 by German authorities for auction sale as it was not used by anyone. Poland wanted to block it, fearing Gazprom's increased gas transports via Opal would result in less gas for two other pipelines, threatening Polish gas supply. According to the EU court, Poland and PGNiG failed to “to provide serious evidence” and expects the case to by fully resolved in 2019. The Opal pipeline carries gas from the Nord Stream gas link to Germany and the Czechia.