Madrid buigt niet onder EU-druk bij voorgenomen overname Spaanse Endesa door Duitse energiegigant E.ON (en)

The European Commission is ready to take Spain to the European Court of Justice, following reports that Madrid has no intention of removing conditions for a take-over of its energy firm Endesa by Germany's E.ON.

"If the measures are not withdrawn, then we have the option of opening an infringement procedure against the Spanish government for failing to respect [European] community law," commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said on Friday (19 January), adding that this was an "obligation" of the EU executive.

Last year, Spain's energy regulator Comision Nacional de Energia (CNE) imposed 19 conditions on German energy giant E.ON's €26.9 billion bid to buy Spanish electricity firm Endesa.

Madrid has refused to lift conditions on a merger that would create Europe's largest energy company, saying they are necessary to secure national energy supply, Spanish newspapers report.

The Spanish government was given a 19 January deadline to get rid of the conditions.

Spanish ministry sources said the conditions did not create "a company problem" because E.ON had accepted them, according to El Mundo, with Madrid also believing in a different interpretation of EU law over the issue.

Spain had originally favoured a merger between Endesa and the country's top gas supplier Gas Natural, hoping to create a national champion in the energy sector to protect the industry from foreign takeover bids.

However, Gas Natural is about to give up on merging with Endesa, with one major Gas Natural shareholder saying it does not have the resources to offer more than E.ON, according to EuroNews.

E.ON's multibillion bid for Endesa has become a test case for European cross-border deals in the energy sector, which Brussels wants to open to competition by dismantling cartels and eliminating barriers to cross-border takeovers.

The Spanish conditions demand that: E.ON does not sell any Endesa assets from the Canaries, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla; keeps the Endesa brand for at least five years; uses domestically produced coal; and does not take decisions which affect Spain's energy security or violate its laws.

The commission already has legal action against Madrid pending in the European Court of Justice after Madrid failed to remove previous restrictions also deemed illegal by the commission.