Como diria Lisa Simpson, una discusion politica en mi familia, como los Kenedy. Pues lo mismo ya casi parecemos EEUU en estas cosas
The European Commission said Wednesday that it had fined the German utility E.ON and its French rival, GDF Suez, €553 million each for refusing to compete.
The commission, the European Union’s competition regulator, said an E.ON unit, Ruhrgas, and GDF Suez had agreed in 1975 not to sell imported Russian natural gas to each other’s home markets after jointly building a pipeline from Russia to Western Europe.
Both E.ON and GDF Suez have long been powerful companies in their home markets, and the heavy fines were designed to «send a strong signal to energy incumbents that the commission will not tolerate any form of anticompetitive behavior,» said Neelie Kroes, the E.U. competition commissioner.
«Consumers in two of Europe’s largest gas markets paid more, while the companies profited at their expense,» said Ms. Kroes, who added that the companies’ offense, market sharing, «is one of the worst types of antitrust infringement.»
The companies operated their market-sharing agreement even after European gas markets were liberalized and only abandoned the practice definitely in 2005, according to the commission.
The fines, which together add up to more than $1.53 billion, were the first to be imposed by the E.U. antitrust officials in the energy sector. They are the second largest imposed against single companies by the European Commission in a cartel case. The largest fine for a single company in a cartel case was €896 million, levied on the French manufacturer Saint-Gobain for fixing prices in the auto glass market in 2008.
Both GDF Suez and E.ON said they would file an appeal with the Court of First Instance, the E.U.’s second-highest tribunal after the Court of Justice.
E.ON acquired control of Ruhrgas, which then became E.ON Ruhrgas, in 2003. Gaz de France merged with Suez in 2008 to become GDF Suez. The commission authorized that transaction in 2006.
The commission, the European Union’s competition regulator, said an E.ON unit, Ruhrgas, and GDF Suez had agreed in 1975 not to sell imported Russian natural gas to each other’s home markets after jointly building a pipeline from Russia to Western Europe.
Both E.ON and GDF Suez have long been powerful companies in their home markets, and the heavy fines were designed to «send a strong signal to energy incumbents that the commission will not tolerate any form of anticompetitive behavior,» said Neelie Kroes, the E.U. competition commissioner.
«Consumers in two of Europe’s largest gas markets paid more, while the companies profited at their expense,» said Ms. Kroes, who added that the companies’ offense, market sharing, «is one of the worst types of antitrust infringement.»
The companies operated their market-sharing agreement even after European gas markets were liberalized and only abandoned the practice definitely in 2005, according to the commission.
The fines, which together add up to more than $1.53 billion, were the first to be imposed by the E.U. antitrust officials in the energy sector. They are the second largest imposed against single companies by the European Commission in a cartel case. The largest fine for a single company in a cartel case was €896 million, levied on the French manufacturer Saint-Gobain for fixing prices in the auto glass market in 2008.
Both GDF Suez and E.ON said they would file an appeal with the Court of First Instance, the E.U.’s second-highest tribunal after the Court of Justice.
E.ON acquired control of Ruhrgas, which then became E.ON Ruhrgas, in 2003. Gaz de France merged with Suez in 2008 to become GDF Suez. The commission authorized that transaction in 2006.