Brussels, 10/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 10 June, the European Commission decided to impose a fine of €20 million on Electrabel - an electricity producer and retailer belonging to the Suez Group (now GDF Suez) - for acquiring control of Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), another electricity producer, without having received prior approval under the EU Merger Regulation. The acquisition of CNR by Electrabel was cleared by the Commission on 29 April 2008 under the EC Merger Regulation, following notification by Electrabel on 26 March 2008. The Commission concluded that the infringement had lasted for a significant period and that Electrabel should have been aware of its obligation to receive Commission approval before proceeding with acquisition. The EU Merger Regulation requires concentrations of a European dimension to be notified to the Commission before their implementation so that the Commission can examine whether a concentration would significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. This is known as the “standstill operation”. To fix the amount of the fine, the Commission took into account the serious nature of the infringement, namely the lack of notification in due time. Nonetheless, it also took into account the fact that the operation had not given rise to competition problems and that Electrabel had then voluntarily informed the Commission of CNR acquisition. The Commission may impose fines of up to 10% of the total turnover made by companies concerned by this kind of infringement, which is far from being the case in this instance. (O.L./transl.jl)