The European Commission has said it had received the request for antitrust approval from PKN

The EC has 25 working-day period to make its decision.

Separately, the Unipetrol CEO Pavel Svarc has given an interview to the Lidove Noviny daily. The main points are:
(i) The delay in submitting all the documents to the EC by PKN was caused by management changes at PKN.
(ii) There are indications that Unipetrol’s price may be increased should its value rise. According to Svarc strong profits in 2004 increased the value of the company.
(iii) Going forward, Svarc does not expect Unipetrol’s performance to be significantly worse than in 2004 while the company’s results may be stable within the next 2 – 3 years.
(iv) PKN’s acquisition should enable further cost cutting and increased market share.
(v) The current trends in the EUR/USD FX rate are favourable to Unipetrol as the company makes the majority of its purchases in USD and sales in EUR.
(vi) The state is guaranteeing about CZK 25bn for ecological damage.