ANNOUNCEMENT
Today, the General Court of the European Union annulled the two European Commission decisions of the “Greek lignite” case following applications for annulment filed by the Public Power Corporation of Greece. The Hellenic Republic had intervened before the Court in favour of PPC for both cases.
The first Commission Decision, issued in March 2008, concluded that certain Greek legislative provisions granting, from the past, rights to PPC for the exploitation of lignite in Greece, created inequality of opportunity between economic operators regarding access to lignite as primary fuel for the generation of electricity. These rights hence allegedly resulted in PPC's dominance on the Greek wholesale electricity market and exclusion of market entry by new-comers.
The second Commission Decision was issued in August 2009 and established measures to correct the alleged anti-competitive effects pointed out by the Commission in the 2008 Decision.
The main reason for today’s annulment of these decisions from the General Court of the European Union was that the European Commission did not prove that PPC abuses its dominant position in the market. As a result, no EU competition law infringement exists anymore, and thus no remedy is needed.
The judgments of the General Court of the European Union are undoubtedly key milestones for the Greek electricity market and differentiate significantly the terms and the path for the further opening up of the electricity market.
PPC sticks to its position for the further liberalisation of the Greek electricity market, which should be implemented by fully respecting the rule of Law and promote healthy competition amongst all participants as well as include all sectors of the electricity market (wholesale and retail), aiming at the benefit of the end-consumer and the economy, which is also the main provision of the Memorandum.
We will continue to cooperate with the State and the Regulatory Authority of Energy on achieving a long-term viable solution for the structure of the Greek electricity market.
Athens, September 20, 2012