Will government lose control of gas imports through PGNiG restructuring?

Deputies from the Sejm Commission for Treasury, Enfranchisement and Privatization fear that the government restructuring plan for the Polish Gas and Oil Mining Company (PGNiG) could lead to government loss of control over gas imports. Deputy Treasury Minister Barbara Litak-Zarebska yesterday presented information on the restructuring process to the commission. The plan calls for four gas distribution companies and one exploration firm to be separated from PGNiG, with the parent company controlling gas transport and international contracts. Deputies from the commission question the need for separating the distribution subsidiaries. They claim that this could lead to a take-over of the Polish gas distribution market by Russian monopoly Gazprom. "For some time [Gazprom] has employed a policy of taking over gas transmission companies so it can dictate its terms," said Commission member Antoni Macierewicz. Meanwhile, PGNiG president Andrzej Lipko said the company would close this year with a zl. 500 million loss, up from its zl. 240 million loss in 1999. (Rzeczpospolita, page B3)