On Thursday 1 December, the European Commission 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.
This in-depth investigation follows the European General Court’s partial annulment of a previous Commission decision.
In November 2013, the Commission approved a Lithuanian measure to support the construction and operation of an LNG terminal in the seaport of Klaipėda. The Commission found two subsequent amendments compatible with EU State aid rules.
In September 2021, the European General Court partially annulled the 2018 Commission decision with regard to the 2016 amendments but upheld it with regard to the 2019 amendments. The General Court concluded that the Commission should have opened an in-depth investigation.
The Commission is therefore opening this investigation. It doubts whether it was necessary to compensate for all boil-off and balancing costs under the 2016 amendments for the period in question, while the former were only partially compensated and the latter were no longer compensated under the 2019 amendments. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)