EU court rules against Spanish law protecting energy groups
14 February 2008, 16:52 CET
(/BRUSSELS/) – An EU court ruled on Thursday against a Spanish law that
Madrid has used to ward off foreign energy companies from making
takeovers of Spanish groups.
The Spanish law was adopted at the end of 1999 when French energy group
Electricite de France (EDF) attempted to get a foothold in the Spanish
market by targeting Hidrocantabrico.
The law allows the Spanish government, within two months of the foreign
acquisition, to either prohibit the exercise of voting rights or to make
them subject to conditions.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the measure was
“disproportionate” for Spain’s declared aim of securing its energy supply.
The European Commission has long fought Spain over the law and brought
the case before the Luxembourg-based ECJ in June 2006.
The European Union has frequently clashed with Madrid in recent years
over Spanish restrictions on foreign ownership of Spanish energy
companies, which Brussels sees as blatant and illegal protectionism.
The EU court ruling comes as EDF has again indicated interest in
entering the Spanish market and in particular in Spanish group Iberdrola.
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