autotldr Bot , 3 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

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But Germany’s neighbors say the law could violate EU rules on gas storage and undermine the bloc’s single market — driving up prices and incentivizing them to buy cheaper Russian energy.

“For us, there are grounds to consider it a clear-cut breach of competition law and the single market rules,” said the senior Commission official, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive matter.

The process can result in financial penalties, although it usually takes months if not years before reaching that point — and starts with several compliance requests from Brussels before the courts get involved.

At the time when Germany adopted the levy, wholesale gas prices were at record highs after Moscow slashed exports to punish Europe over its support for Ukraine.

So far, the EU has eliminated around two-thirds of its historical Russian gas imports, though several Central European countries remain highly dependent on Moscow for supplies.

“The gas storage levy is non-discriminatory and is charged at the same rate” for all countries, a German Economy Ministry spokesperson told POLITICO, while confirming the government was holding informal talks with the Commission over a potential breach of EU law.

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The original article contains 661 words, the summary contains 192 words. Saved 71%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!