The European Court of First Instance has confirmed the decision of the European Comission declaring that the proposed acquisition of Endesa by Gas Natural did not fall within its jurisdiction.
The announcement followed a complaint from Endesa that the proposed merger had to be notified to the Commission and that the Spanish authorities were not competent to carry out an assessment of it with regard to the Spanish rules on merger control. The Commission, however, rejected that complaint on 15 November 2005 on the grounds that the merger did not present a Community dimension. On 29 November 2005, Endesa contested that decision before the Court of First Instance on the ground that the Commission incorrectly calculated its turnover, an appeal the Court has now also rejected.