By Philip Martinius and Matthias von Oppen
National Authorities' Influence Now More Limited, Certain Companies More Vulnerable
The European Commission has once more been successful before the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") in its continued battle against "golden share" provisions of EC (European Community) Member States. On May 13, 2003, the ECJ issued two judgments1 regarding certain control rights of public authorities in privatized undertakings in Spain and the UK. Reaffirming its decisions of July 4, 2002,2 the Court declared both the Spanish and the UK rules unlawful.
The ECJ once more held that national laws conferring on a state special rights in the form of golden shares or comparable means contravene the fundamental principle of freedom of movement of capital between EC Member States and between Member States and third countries, Art 56 EC Treaty. Thus, golden shares or equivalent provisions in national law are only permissible if (i) justified by reasons referred to
