"Protectionism, no matter who practices it, is negative for Europe. Now we see the need to reject any national protectionism, otherwise the European common market will break up". Franco Frattini, one of the Deputy Presidents of the EU Commission, comments with these words the event that saw Enel against the French energy company Suez, after the announcement of its merger with Gaz de France. But the Executive Committee has not issued any certain opinion yet. According to the French Deputy President of the EU Commission, Jacques Barrot, the operation "seems to respect the EU rules", even if "it does not reflect the spirit of the European strategy which aims at achieving more energy integration". From Brussels, Johannes Laitenberger, the first spokesman of the Barroso team, says: "If the Gdf-Suez operation is notified, the Commission will review it with the greatest determination to see if it is compatible with the rules of the competitor’s domestic market". About the energy policy, Laitenberger however says that the EU "is in favour of a more integrated approach because the challenges of globalisation in this area cannot be faced by 25 small domestic markets".
