BRUSSELS, June 8 (UPI) -- In a victory for France and Germany, a majority of European Union member states oppose Brussels' plan to break up major energy utilities.
The call by the European Commission, the EU's executive body, to strip energy utilities from their distribution networks to ensure fair competition, a process dubbed "ownership unbundling," has been rejected by several EU member states.
After EU leaders gave partial backing to the plan in March, several member states have now raised their concerns after the intervention of France and Germany, which fear their national champions EDF and Eon would lose substantial assets.
In their meeting on energy-market liberalization in Luxembourg earlier this week, EU energy ministers acknowledged "the need for action on ... unbundling of network operations from energy production and supply activities." However, they also made clear that splitting up energy firms "is only one of a number of measures for accelerating the dynamics of competition."
The United Kingdom is one of the strongest supporters of full ownership unbundling, but this time it seems the position of France and Germany, which argue that national champions are needed to negotiate with large suppliers like Russian energy giant Gazprom, have won more support.
Unbundling "is not a cure-all," German Economy Minister Michael Glos said in a statement.
Apart from France and Germany, countries opposed to unbundling include Austria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, the Baltic states, Slovakia and Hungary, the EU Observer reported. Supporters include Britain, the Netherlands and Ireland.
