Brussels, 28/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - Recent public interventions in the arena of mergers in the European energy market have provoked some mixed reactions. Although in Italy there is no end to the anger following the merger announced between Gaz de France and Suez (EUROPE 9140), some quarters have criticised the position taken by the Berlusconi government, which has attempted to exert pressure to oppose the French project. On Tuesday the Italian finance minister, Giulio Tremoni, will be meeting Commissioner for competition, Neelie Kroes, and is expected to tackle the subject on Wednesday with the Commissioner for the internal market, Charlie McCreevy. Refusing to comment on the case because he has still not received notification, the Commissioner has been keen to point out that more competition is needed as well as an integrated approach in the European energy sector.
Claude Turmes MEP (Green, Luxembourg) believes that this wait and see position is a little out of step with the new wave of mergers in the gas and electricity sector and is calling on the Commission to respond more rapidly. In a press release Turmes attacked “the reactions of economic patriotism” over recent weeks which, “demonstrate that we cannot leave it up to Member States alone to face these mergers”. He is calling on Commissioner Piebalgs (energy) and Commissioner Kroes (competition) to “meet with regulators and the national competition authorities of the 25 as urgently as possible to discuss a European response”. He also posed the question to which leaders should provide an answer, what benefits do these mergers bring to the economy in general and consumers in particular?
On Radio Europe on Tuesday, Commissioner Franco Frattini recognised that, “we have to mention the increasing risk of protectionism”. He called on Member States to be “more European and less nationalistic”. According to Frattini “perhaps it is necessary to provide protection from these companies from elsewhere but not in Europe because that would threaten the European ideal of the internal market”.
Etienne Davignon on the other hand, regarded the merger between EDF and Suez (on which he is a member of the board of directors) as not purely political. The former European Commissioner informed the Belgian daily Le Soir, that, “this is foremost an initiative of two companies that want to create profits for their shareholders, stability, guarantees for jobs and services”. Mr Davignon also stated, “it is certain that Enel's intervention has led the French government to think about the question with more urgency” but that a merger had been envisaged before Enel announced its interest in Suez. Although national considerations should be evaluated they were only a factor in “speeding up the economically justified process and not for inventing it”. Mr Davignon considers that the operation should lead to the sale of Gaz de France assets in Belgium because the new group is supposed to have 99% of market share in the electricity production of the country. Davignon pointed out that in addition to SPE (Société de production d'éléctricité: Belgium), which is 51% owned by Gaz de France and accounts for 8% of the Belgian electricity market, is the position of Electrabel, the subsidiary of the Suez group, which holds 91% of the Belgian market and which will “therefore have to sell the stake it has in SPE” for which there would be a number of takers.
Giani Pittella MEP (Democratici di Sinistra) criticised France for having pursued a policy that, “aims to renationalise the economy rather than integrate and liberalise the European capital markets” and asked, therefore, Commissioner Kroes to closely assess this operation. In a press release it is stated that the Italian government “instead of threatening useless reprisals…has the duty to explain to us why it had not done anything to transpose the Community directive on takeovers”. Member States have until 20 May to transpose this text into more detailed rules for establishing minimal guidelines for takeovers on companies subject to Member State law: (EUROPE 8677).