The hottest EU energy integration is troubled by F

EU energy integration is troubled by French style again

two French energy companies that have lasted for nearly two years "settled the source company merger case at the IWCS conference, and Brussels (where the EU headquarters is located) is committed to promoting the liberalization of the EU energy market." But I felt a burst of coolness

however, on September 3, gazdefrance and Suez, the largest private energy company in France, officially announced the merger of energy businesses, resulting in the emergence of the world's third largest energy giant. The newly established company (gazdefrance Suez) has become the largest buyer and seller of natural gas in the influential plastic industry gathering area in Western China

some analysts believe that the merger of the two companies will directly oppose the anti energy source monopoly policy advocated by the European Commission

"the merger of the two major energy companies shows that the European Commission has not been able to really open the energy market within the union, which also shows that the EU currently has no effective energy reform measures." Christian, an energy expert at the European Policy Research Center, pointed out that this transaction will lead to the "centralization" of the energy market

the EU was originally scheduled to remove the energy trade barriers of Member States and fully open the energy market within the EU system on July 1 this year, but the plan could not be realized as scheduled. In fact, instead, governments have accelerated the merger process of domestic energy enterprises and competed to establish powerful energy giants in their countries

in February last year, the Italian power company intended to cross-border acquire Suez. In order to prevent this cross-border merger, the French government forced the French natural gas company to merge with Suez, and even did not hesitate to amend the current energy law

the merger of French natural gas and Suez highlights the fact that the European natural gas market is still firmly in the hands of several oligarchs, including Gazprom, eon, Eni and Gazprom. Large energy monopoly enterprises resolutely defend their position, and even reach an informal agreement not to enter each other's market. Their control of the energy industry makes it difficult for other new energy companies to enter the market

in order to avoid embarrassment, the European Commission tried to be friendly to the French merger on the 4th. "We have conducted a long-term investigation into this merger." EU antitrust spokesman Jonathan Todd said, "if we find any energy enterprise using its market dominance to prevent other companies from entering the electricity and natural gas market, the EU will severely punish the enterprise."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who played a key role in the merger, publicly urged France to establish a four month strategic energy unity to fight foreign acquisitions with the integration of its own energy market. In fact, this is contrary to the process of energy market integration promoted by the EU

for the EU, France's role as the locomotive of its integration process has gradually faded. Two years ago, in May, the EU constitutional treaty encountered a similar "trouble"