A refusal to grant access to a grid within the provision of crude oil transfer services as an example of a prohibited abuse of a dominant position in the EU and Polish competition law

• Authors: SZYDŁO Wojciech Paweł
• Conference: Judicial review of the decision of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The paper discusses cases in which a refusal by an energy enterprise to connect other enterprises to the network is treated as a prohibited abuse of the enterprise’s dominant position and, equally, will represent behavior prohibited by art. 12 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and by art. 9 par. 2 item 2 of the Competition and Consumer Protection Law as well as legal consequences of such refusal. It is important to pinpoint such cases since the EU sectoral regulation does not provide for obligating any undertakings which manage and operate oil pipelines to enter into contracts with other undertakings such as contracts on connecting into their network or contracts on providing crude oil transfer services. Conditions for accessing oil pipelines and selling their transfer capacities are determined by the owners of the networks: private oil companies in the countries across which the pipelines are routed. These conditions are not governed by the EU law. Furthermore, the very obligation of connecting other entities to own network by energy undertakings operating in the oil transfer sector in Poland will only arise from generally applicable provisions of the Polish competition law.

Keywords

EN

prohibited abuse of a dominant position; competition law, the EU law; crude oil transfer services; refusal to grant access to a grid

• Publisher: Wyższa Szkoła Bankowa we Wrocławiu
• Journal: Central and Eastern European Journal of Management and Economics (CEEJME)
• Year: 2017
• Issue: No. 2
• Pages: 187-197

Dates

online

2017-06-30

Contributors

author

SZYDŁO Wojciech Paweł

• University of Wrocław

References

• Albors-Llorens A. (2007), The role of objective justification and efficiencies in the application of Article 82 EC”, “Common Market Law Review”, vol. 44 no. 6, pp. 1727-1761.
• Bisgaard Pedersen N., Bjørnmose J., Turgot T., Smederup Hansen D. (2009), Gas and oil pipelines in Europe, The European Parliament Publishing House, Brussels.
• Frenz W. (2006), Handbuch Europarecht. Band 2. Europäisches Kartellrecht, Springer, Berlin/Heidelberg.
• Jurkowska A. (2009), Komentarz, in: Ustawa o ochronie konkurencji i konsumentów, eds. Skoczny T., Jurkowska A., Miąsik D., C.H. Beck, Warszawa.
• Modzelewska-Wąchal E. (2002), Komentarz, in: Ustawa o ochronie konkurencji i konsumentów, Twigger, Warszawa.
• Pokrzywniak J. (2013), Umowa o przyłączenie do sieci elektroenergetycznej, gazowej lub ciepłowniczej oraz obowiązek jej zawarcia. Zagadnienia cywilnoprawne, Wolters Kluwer, Warszawa.
• Szydło M. (2010a), Nadużywanie pozycji dominującej w prawie konkurencji, Wolters Kluwer, Warszawa.
• Szydło M. (2010b), Prawo konkurencji a regulacja sektorowa, Wolters Kluwer, Warszawa.
• Communication from the European Commission of February 9, 2009 laying down the guidelines on the Commission’s enforcement priorities in applying Article 82 of the EC Treaty to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings (EU OJ of 2007, C 45/7).
• Decision of the Council of December 20, 1968 on the conclusion and implementation of individual agreements between Governments relating to the obligation of Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, EEC OJ 1968, L 308/19.
• Decision of the Council of April 22,1999 regarding a Community procedure for information and consultation on crude oil supply costs and the consumer prices of petroleum products, EC OJ 1999, L 1108.
• Directive of the Council of July 24, 1973 on measures to mitigate the effects of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, EEC OJ 1973, L 228/1.
• Directive of the Council 2006/67/CE of July 24, 2006 imposing an obligation on Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, EU OJ 2006, L 217/8.
• Directive of the Council 2009/119/CE of September 14, 2009 imposing an obligation on Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products, EU OJ 2009, L 265/9.
• Directive of the European Parliament and the Council 2009/72/EC of July 13, 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC OJ 2009, L211/55.
• Directive of the European Parliament and the Council 2009/73/EC of July 13, 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC OJ 2009, L211/94.
• Regulation of the Council (CE) No. 2964/95 of December 20, 1995 introducing registration for crude oil imports and deliveries in the Community, EU OJ 1995, L 310/5.
• Treaty Establishing the Energy Community (the Treaty signed in Athens on October 25, 2005).
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
• Ustawa z dnia 10 kwietnia 1997 r. – Prawo energetyczne, t.j. Dz.U. z 2006 r., nr 86, poz.625 ze zm. (Energy Law of April 10, 1997, consolidated text: Dz.U.[Journal of Laws] of 2006, no. 86, item 625 as amended).
• Ustawa z dnia 16 lutego 2007 r. o ochronie konkurencji i konsumentów, tekst jednolity: Dz.U. z 2017 r. poz. 229 (Competition and Consumer Protection Act of February 16, 2007 consolidated text: Dz.U. [Journal of Laws] of 2017, item 229).
• Decision of the President of UOKiK of April 9, 2005, file ref. no. DOK-91/2005, OUKiK Official Journal of 2005, no. 3, item 34.
• Judgement of CJ of 1995 in joined cases C-241-242/91 P Radio Telefis Eireann (RTE) and Independent Television Publications Ltd (ITP) v. Commission, ECR [1995], p. I-743.
• Judgement of CJ of November 26, 1998 in the case C-7/97 Oscar Bronner GmbH & Co. KG v. Mediaprint Zeitungsund Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH & Co. KG, Mediaprint Zeitungsvertriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and Mediaprint Anzeigengesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, ECR [1998], p. I-7791.
• Judgement of EC of March 6, 1974 in joined cases 6 and 7/73, Istituto Chemioterapico Italiano S.p.A. and Commercial Solvents Corporation v. Commission, [1974] ECR, p. 223.
• Judgment of EC of February 14, 1978 in the case 27/76 United Brands Company and United Brands Continentaal BV v. Commission, [1978] ECR, p. 207.
• Judgement of the Court [previously: First Instance Court] of June 12, 1997 in the case T-504/93 Tiercé Ladbroke SA v. Commission, ECR [1997], p. II-923.

Identifiers

ISSN

2353 - 9119