Brussels, 17/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The prior authorisation regime, applied by the Spanish national energy commission (CNE), is not compatible with Community law, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday 17 July 2008. The regime is therefore neither adequate nor necessary for ensuring public security, and hence the restrictions that it imposes on foreign investment in the Spanish energy sector are not justified (Case C-207/07).
The Court recognises that energy supply is likely to...