The European Commission hit out against Italy and Spain today for their interference in cross-border mergers, moving both cases closer to court action as it tries to battle economic nationalism in the bloc.
The EU executive told Italy its initial findings showed that the hurdles Rome had placed in front of a merger between toll-road group Autostrade and Spain's Abertis, which was dropped in December, broke EU law.
It also demanded that Spain drop conditions it had set on a €36.5 billion deal between German utility E.ON and Spanish peer Endesa, extending a legal procedure that is a step from landing Madrid in court. The Commission gave Italy 15 working days to answer its charge that Rome had broken EU merger rules, after which it can take a legally binding decision against Rome.
"This is a merger of a European dimension falling within the exclusive competence of the Commission under the EU Merger Regulation," the EU executive said in a statement, adding: "Italy has violated Article 21 of the EU Merger Regulation."
Under that article, the Commission has sole jurisdiction over reviewing large cross-border mergers such as the €14 billion deal that would have created the world's largest toll-road operator. After the transaction was derailed in December, Abertis said it still had hopes for the deal.
"Athough the process is still open in Brussels, the decision reinforces our idea that we still have a window of opportunity open, although the limiting factor will always be Italy's answer," a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday.
But Italian Infrastructure Minister Antonio Di Pietro said the Commission's move would not make a differene to the deal.