French,
Spain underline common energy cause
AFP
MADRID
Petroleumworld.com
03 14 06
Spain and France underlined Monday their common cause on energy
policy, saying that European states must look after their needs
by creating large groups capable of competing in an international
market.
"Europe buys more than half of its energy from outside,"
visiting French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told a news
conference alongside his host, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero.
De Villepin said it was therefore "indispensable to create
big European energy groups who are able to compete in the international
arena."
He also described France and Spain as "strategic European
partners."
De Villepin was speaking a day after the Spanish newspaper El
Pais quoted Spanish Finance Minister Pedro Solbes as saying liberalisation
of Europe's electricity sector has failed, amid an attempt by
Madrid to block the attempted takeover of Spanish electricity
company Endesa by the German group E.ON.
Spain prefers to create a 'national champion' and had earlier
given the green light to a rival bid by Spain's Gas Natural.
Solbes denied protectionism but said that "in a sector as
strategically important as energy, acquisitions could affect the
supply of energy leaving governments powerless to do anything
about it".
The European Commission has already warned Spain not to build
protectionist walls around its utilities.
France has similarly been the target of criticism from the Commission,
whose president Jose Manuel Barroso last week slammed Paris' "economic
patriotism" after state-controlled Gaz de France announced
it would buy French power and water group Suez.
That move has infuriated Italy, which sees the manoeuvre as a
means of blocking a takeover of Suez by the Italian energy giant
Enel.
Enel has asked the EU Commission to investigate the deal.
AFP
03 13 06
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© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved.
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