Spain broke European Union law by imposing conditions on the purchase of energy company Endesa by Enel of Italy and Spain's Acciona, the European Commission said today in a preliminary finding.
The commission had approved the €42.5 billion deal on July5th and said that under the law it had sole jurisdiction over the transaction.
But Spain's National Energy Commission had imposed conditions on April 26th and July 4th.
"The commission has exclusive competence to assess the competitive impact of concentrations with a community dimension. Member states cannot apply their national competition law to such operations," the EU executive said.
Spain could impose conditions for reasons of public security, plurality of media and prudential rules, but none of those exceptions to the rule apply in this case, it said.
Spain has 30 days to reply. If the commission rejects its defence, the EU executive could find against Spain.