European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has warned against economic nationalism in reaction to a recent wave of industrial protectionism by member states.
Speaking days after an Italian firm was blocked from taking over a French energy company, Mr Barroso appealed to a "sense of political responsibility on the part of our statesmen to avoid national or nationalist rhetoric".
The warning came as Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti met internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy to protest at the manner in which Enel had been shut out of a possible take-over of French energy company Suez. Mr Tremonti also backed a memorandum the Italian company was to file to the commission today outlining its plans for a takeover.
Mr Tremonti made it clear he wanted Brussels to intervene in the dispute: "If the Commission does not act, my advice would be for it to close down because of a failure to meet its mandate." A statement afterwards said Mr McCreevy's office was "ready to monitor and examine the situation in the light of the concerns raised".
The French government is in the spotlight after encouraging a merger between Suez and Gaz de France to thwart Enel's takeover.
France is not the only government which has actively tried to ensure that important industries remained in the hands of national firms. The Spanish government tried to block a takeover bid by German energy firm Eon for Spanish electricity company Endesa. Similarly Luxembourg has so far fought off a bid by Mittal Steel for European steelmaker Arcelor.
Without naming these recent cases, Mr Barroso yesterday said this type of action was damaging for the EU. "Some of the statements that I've heard recently are not good for Europe . . . the suggestion is sometimes that member states are defending themselves against each other."
He added the member states would gain if they united in the energy sector. "We are not going to be able to meet the challenges facing us if we take a nationalist approach."
He added: "We can't deal with globalisation if we've got 25 mini energy markets. Even the largest member states are too small when we talk about globalisation, the world as a whole and energy."
Mr Barroso said such action benefited nobody in the EU. "It's negative for Europe. I believe that and I believe that it's negative for the member states concerned."
French prime minister Dominic de Villepin yesterday rejected the notion of French protectionism: "What we want is to give our companies the means to fight on equal terms in international competition," he told a news conference in Paris.
