A European power company? Forget it

Matthew Lynn

As French energy giants Suez and Gaz de France announced merger plans to create the world's second-l...

As French energy giants Suez and Gaz de France announced merger plans to create the world's second-largest utility, it brought howls of protest from Italy's Enel, which wanted to buy a French business itself. As Germany's E.ON offered 29.1bn in cash for Spain's Endesa, it provoked yelps of pain in Madrid. Even the British, who usually greet international takeovers of their firms with a relaxed shrug, were nervous last month as Russia's OAO Gazprom considered buying Centrica Plc, the UK's biggest energy supplier. The trouble is, amid the nationalistic squabbling between European nations, ...