Luxemburg, 12/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - President of the Court of First Instance Bo Vesterdorf said that he would hear the parties in case brought by the Spanish company Endesa against the European Commission this Friday. Endesa, which was the subject of a hostile takeover bid from Spain's major gas group, Gas Natural reproaches the Commission for its decision not to take action and returning the case to Spanish authorities (see EUROPE 9068). Gas Natural and the Spanish Government sought and obtained the right to intervene. The cases will be put in the framework of interim measures: Endesa is seeking the suspension of the operation in Spain ahead of a Court opinion on the substance of the case which could be in next April. The case is deemed “urgent”. The parties having had only a few days to prepare, the case will be take place although the Endesa appeal against the Commission has not yet been published in the Official Journal or thus brought to public and European business attention. Bo Vesterdorf has allowed this case to benefit from the accelerated procedure, meaning that the Court could give its opinion as early as next Spring and not in two or three years' time under the normal procedure.
Endesa is seeking the annulment of the European Commission's decision of 15 November 2005, that the case did not come under its jurisdiction, pointing out that both Gas Natural and Endesa achieved at least 75% of their total turnover in Spain (see EUROPA 9068). Endesa intends to contest the accounting rules employed by the Commission.