Westward Expansion (German Energy Companies expand to Benelux)

Newsletter 2009/04/28 - Westward Expansion

ARNHEM/ESSEN/DUESSELDORF (Own report) - The westward expansion of the Essen based energy giant, RWE, has met resistance. At the end of last week, the parliament of the North-Brabant Province in the Netherlands rejected the takeover of Essent, the leading Dutch energy company, by its German rival. The parliament declared that the nation must maintain control over its energy supplies. At the beginning of the year, RWE and the Essent management reached an agreement on the deal. With the acquisition of Essent, RWE was not only hoping to catch up with the leading German utility company, Eon, but also to strengthen its position in Western Europe - a goal the company has been pursuing for several years. Currently the focus is on the Netherlands, whose economy is closely linked to that of Germany. The German federal land North Rhine-Westphalia, which is also where RWE is located, is seeking to intensify these links through several initiatives. These include a memorandum signed by the government of North Rhine-Westphalia with those of the Benelux countries last December, allowing North Rhine-Westphalian functionaries to work on Benelux expert commissions. Subsequently German personnel will have the chance to directly influence relations between Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg and the enhancement of their already strong alignment with the European hegemonic power.

more
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56242