Italian utility Enel has prepared a memorandum that it is to present to the EU, outlining its own plans for entry into the French and Belgian markets through the acquisition of part or all of Suez.
Reports suggest the dossier contains details of Enel’s planned bid for Electrabel, as well as outlining what Enel says are anti-competitive moves on the part of the French government to block an Enel-Suez tie-up.
Enel’s nascent joint bid for Suez’s assets with Veolia fell apart after the latter pulled out of the deal, and the French government moved to launch a Gaz de France-Suez merger instead.
The memorandum follows a meeting in Brussels between Italy’s finance minister Giulio Tremonti and the EU’s antitrust commissioners, Neelie Kroes and Charlie McCreevy.
The GdF-Suez deal has caused an outcry in Italy amid accusations that Paris is playing at protectionism, while there could yet be a backlash from the EU, with commissioners already warning France not to interfere with the functioning of the free trade area.