Spain slammed over Endesa

摘要

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Spain breached competition law when it insisted last year that mergers in its energy sector must be pre-approved by its regulator. The Spanish government had argued that its aim was to safeguard public interest and security of supply when it imposed special conditions on the attempted takeover of Endesa by German power company E.ON. E.ON subsequently withdrew its bid for the Spanish energy group, which was later bought by Acciona and Enel. Their joint bid also required pre-approval by Spain's National Energy Commission (NEC). Spain's policy was widely interpreted as protectionism, as a way of preventing key energy assets from falling into the hands of foreign companies. The European Commission (EC) launched legal proceedings against the NEC on the basis that it was infringing the free movement of capital and freedom of establishment.