The European Commission has given the green light to the disbursement of EUR 225.6 million in aid to Gazprom Germania, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned company Gazprom in Germany, thus clearing the way for the authorities to take control of the company.
The company has been renamed Guaranteed Energy for Europe (SEFE) and will now be under the direct control of Germany’s electricity, gas, telecommunications, postal and rail market regulator, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).
The Commission has issued a press release confirming that Gazprom Export LCC will be replaced by SEFE «to safeguard the security of gas supply to the German economy».
This measure is related to the Temporary Crisis Framework, a series of initiatives which allow companies to receive financial support to ensure their solvency in the midst of the energy crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine.
The company suffered significant losses following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It controlled 14 percent of the German gas market and 28 percent of the gas in storage.
In April the German government appointed a manager due to legal uncertainties and non-compliance with procedures aimed at securing supply. In mid-June the government began injecting billions of dollars to avoid bankruptcy.
Now the European Commission validates this intervention «as necessary, appropriate and proportionate» in the face of a «serious disturbance» of the economy of a Member State, although it makes it conditional on the adoption of «appropriate measures to limit any potential distortion of competition».
