World Bulletin / News Desk

Russian energy giant Gazprom and its European partners on Friday announced their withdrawal of an application for merger clearance in Poland, as they vowed the project to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea would continue as planned.

Gazprom, Anglo-Dutch group Shell, Austrian OMV and German Uniper and Wintershall plan to build a pipeline formally known as Nord Stream 2, which aims to increase gas delivery capacity to Germany from Russia bypassing Ukraine.

In July, Poland's anti-trust authority said that it objected to a planned merger, as it could lead to unfair competition while unduly strengthening Gazprom, which already plays a "leading role" in gas delivery to the central European nation.

"The signatories of the Nord Stream 2 AG shareholders' agreement have today withdrawn their application for a merger clearance proceeding in Poland," read the Nord Stream 2 partners' statement.

"This decision does not affect implementation of the project, which continues as planned."