

 
Communications Directorate 
Press and Information Unit curia.europa.eu 
 
 
 
PRESS RELEASE No 160/23 
Luxembourg, 25 October 2023 
 
Judgment of the General Court in Case T-136/19 | Bulgarian Energy Holding and Others v Commission 
The General Court annuls the Commission Decision according to which the 
BEH Group abused its dominant position by refusing access to strategic gas 
infrastructures in Bulgaria 
At the time of the facts, Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), a company wholly owned by the Bulgarian State, had 
several subsidiaries which were active in the energy sector, including Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz. Bulgargaz was 
the public gas supplier in the country. Bulgartransgaz managed and operated the gas transmission network used for 
the distribution of gas in Bulgaria. It also controlled the only natural gas storage facility in the country, situated 
underground in Chiren.  
For a long time, Bulgaria’s supply depended almost entirely on imports of Russian gas. That gas was transported via 
Ukraine, then Romania, mainly through the Romanian Transit Pipeline 1, which was managed by the company 
Transgaz, the gas transmission network operator in Romania. 
From 1974, an intergovernmental agreement between Bulgaria and Romania guaranteed the conditions for the 
operation of the Romanian Pipeline 1. In 2005, under a new agreement, Bulgargaz was granted exclusive use of that 
pipeline until the end of 2011. The agreement was extended until 2016.   
In 2010, the company Overgas, an operator in the gas supply market in Bulgaria, lodged with the European 
Commission a complaint against BEH and its two subsidiaries, alleging that they had infringed EU competition rules. 
After its investigations, the Commission found, by Decision of 17 December 2018 
1
, that those companies’ conduct 
constituted abuse of a dominant position on the gas supply market in Bulgaria. The infringement consisted in a 
refusal to grant third parties, including Overgas, access to the Romanian Transit Pipeline 1, to the gas transmission 
network and to the gas storage facility in Chiren during the period 30 July 2010 to 1 January 2015. According to the 
Commission, that prevented Bulgargaz’s competitors from developing their offer on Bulgarian territory. 
Consequently, the Commission imposed a fine of approximately €77 million on the companies concerned. 
Following that decision, BEH and its subsidiaries brought proceedings before the General Court of the European 
Union, seeking the annulment of that decision or, failing that, a reduction in the amount of the fine. 
By its judgment, the General Court annuls the Commission Decision. 
According to the General Court, the Romanian Pipeline 1 was an essential facility for the transportation of Russian 
gas to Bulgaria due to the lack of any alternative. Even though Bulgargaz was not the owner of that pipeline, 
Bulgargaz had exclusive use of it, which took the form of a situation of control and, consequently, of Bulgargaz 
having a dominant position on the market in question. 
The General Court nevertheless found that the Commission had not demonstrated that Bulgargaz’s conduct 
regarding access to the Romanian Pipeline 1 was the cause of the difficulties which third parties encountered when 

 
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requesting access to that pipeline for the transportation of gas from Russia to Bulgaria. Thus, any irregularity that 
might, in theory, have been committed by Bulgartransgaz in relation to the gas transmission network and the Chiren 
storage facility could not constitute an infringement of EU competition rules because no company could have 
entered the Bulgarian gas market without access to the Romanian Pipeline 1. 
The General Court also finds that the Commission did not put the BEH Group in a position to argue its position fully 
as regards the infringement alleged against it and thus infringed its rights of defence. 
In those circumstances, the General Court finds that the Commission has not duly established that the BEH Group 
abused its dominant position on the gas supply market in Bulgaria. 
NOTE: An action for annulment seeks the annulment of acts of the institutions of the European Union that are 
contrary to EU law. The Member States, the European institutions and individuals may, under certain conditions, 
bring an action for annulment before the Court of Justice or the General Court. If the action is well founded, the act 
is annulled. The institution concerned must fill any legal vacuum created by the annulment of the act. 
NOTE: An appeal, limited to points of law only, may be brought before the Court of Justice against the decision of 
the General Court within two months and ten days of notification of the decision. 
Unofficial document for media use, not binding on the General Court. 
The full text and, as the case may be, the abstract of the judgment are published on the CURIA website on the day of 
delivery.  
Press contact: Jacques René Zammit ✆  (+352) 4303 3355. 
 
 
 
 
1
 Commission Decision C(2018) 8806 final of 17 December 2018 relating to proceedings under Article 102 TFEU (Case AT.39849 - BEH Gas). See also 
Commission Press Release IP/18/6846. 
 

General Court Overturns EU Commission's Ruling on Bulgarian Energy Holding's Market Conduct

The General Court of the European Union has ruled in favor of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and its subsidiaries, annulling a previous decision by the European Commission that found the company had abused its dominant market position in the Bulgarian gas supply sector.

BEH, a state-owned entity, operates several subsidiaries including Bulgargaz, the public gas supplier, and Bulgartransgaz, which manages the gas transmission network and the only natural gas storage facility in Bulgaria. The Commission's original decision, made in December 2018, imposed a fine of approximately €77 million on BEH for refusing third-party access to the Romanian Transit Pipeline 1, which was essential for transporting Russian gas to Bulgaria.

The General Court determined that while Bulgargaz had exclusive use of the Romanian Pipeline 1, it was not proven that its conduct directly caused the difficulties faced by competitors in accessing the pipeline. The court emphasized that without access to this pipeline, no company could effectively enter the Bulgarian gas market.

Furthermore, the court found that the Commission had not adequately allowed BEH to defend itself against the allegations, thus infringing its rights. As a result, the court concluded that the Commission failed to establish that BEH had abused its dominant position in the market.



General Court Overturns EU Commission's Ruling on Bulgarian Energy Holding's Market Conduct

The General Court has annulled the European Commission's decision that Bulgarian Energy Holding abused its dominant position by denying access to key gas infrastructures.