Memo: Antitrust: Commission market tests commitments proposed by E.ON concerning German electricity markets

The European Commission invited comments from interested parties on the commitments offered by E.ON to meet concerns that it may have infringed EC Treaty rules on the abuse of dominant market positions (Article 82). The Commission's concerns relate to German electricity markets, and in particular the withholding of available generation capacity, deterring third parties from investing in new generation capacity and certain practices as regards the operation of the transmission system. A summary of the commitments proposed by E.ON has been published in the EU Official Journal (2008/C 146/9) and the full non-confidential version of the commitments is available on the Europa website. Interested parties can submit comments within one month from the date of publication. If the result of the market test is positive, the Commission would adopt a decision under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003, making the commitments legally binding on E.ON.