The General Court of the European Union has dismissed the action brought by the German municipal authority Enercity against the European Commission's approval of the acquisition of generation assets from E.ON by RWE. The court ruled that Enercity was not individually concerned by the decision, which was a key factor in determining the admissibility of its action.

The case stems from a complex asset swap announced in March 2018 between RWE AG and E.ON, involving three concentration operations. The first operation allowed RWE to acquire control over certain generation assets of E.ON, while the second operation involved E.ON acquiring control over Innogy SE's distribution and retail energy business. The third operation was RWE acquiring a stake in E.ON.

Enercity sought to participate in the procedure related to these operations and requested access to relevant documents. However, the General Court found that Enercity's participation did not meet the threshold of being 'actively' involved in the administrative procedure, which is necessary to establish individual concern under EU law.

The court emphasized that mere participation in the procedure is insufficient for establishing individual concern. It noted that Enercity's observations, while relevant, did not significantly influence the Commission's assessment of the concentration's effects on the market. Furthermore, the court ruled that Enercity failed to demonstrate that it had standing to bring proceedings, leading to the dismissal of its action as inadmissible.