21.5.2011 Official Journal of the European Union L 135/1 II (Non-legislative acts) DECISIONS COMMISSION DECISION of 12 January 2011 on the tax amortisation of financial goodwill for foreign shareholding acquisitions No C 45/07 (ex NN 51/07, ex CP 9/07) implemented by Spain (notified under document C(2010) 9566) (Only the Spanish text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (2011/282/EU) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, (2) By written question No P-5509/06, Mr David Martin MEP complained to the Commission about the hostile takeover bid by the Spanish energy producer Iberdrola involving purchasing shares of the UK energy generator Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European and _ distributor  Scottish Power Ltd According to Union, and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 108(2) Mr Martin, Iberdrola had gnfairly benefited from -Sj[ate thereof, aid in the form of a tax incentive for the acquisition. Mr Martin asked the Commission to examine all the competition issues arising from the acquisition, which had been notified on 12 January 2007 for review by ) ) the Commission pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regu- Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic lation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the Area, and in particular Article 62(1)(a) thereof, control of concentrations between undertakings (%) (here- inafter ‘the Merger Regulation’). By Decision dated 26 March 2007 (Case No COMP/M.4517 — Iberdrola/ Scottishpower, SG-Greffe(2007) D[201696) (¥, the Having called on interested parties to submit their comments Commission decided not to oppose the notified pursuant to the provisions cited above (') and having regard to operation and to declare it compatible with the internal their comments, market under Article 6(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation. Whereas: (3) By letters dated 15 January and 26 March 2007, the Commission asked the Spanish authorities to provide | PROCEDURE information in order to assess the scope and the effects ' of Article 12(5) TRLIS with respect to its possible clas- (1) By written questions addressed to the Commission .sification as State aid and its compatibility with the (No E-4431/05, E-4772/05 and E-5800/06) several internal market. MEPs indicated that Spain had enacted a special scheme allegedly providing an unfair tax incentive for Spanish companies that acquired significant shareholdings in foreign companies, pursuant to Article 12(5) of the Spanish Corporate Tax Law (Real Decreto Legislativo 4/2004, de 5 de marzo, por el que se aprueba el texto (4 By letters dated 16 February and 4 June 2007, the refundido de la Ley del Impuesto sobre Sociedades’ (), Spanish authorities replied to these requests. hereinafter ‘TRLIS’). - () OJ L 24, 29.1.2004, p. 1. () OJ C 311, 21.12.2007, p. 21. (*) See: http:[[ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade/isef/case_detailscfm?proc (%) Published in the Spanish Official State Gazette of 11.3.2004. _code=2_M_4517