The typically supply driven project development of the past years is to be changed towards an effort to meet the end users' needs for energy services at all levels, i.e. for production and supply of goods and services, for household purposes, communication, transport, public purposes etc.

To that end, restrictions on the transfer of securities, restrictions on voting rights, extraordinary appointment rights and multiple voting rights should be removed or suspended during the time allowed for the acceptance of a bid and when the general meeting of shareholders decides on defensive measures, on amendments to the articles of association or on the removal or appointment of board members at the first general meeting of shareholders following closure of the bid.

4. Where, following a bid, the offeror holds 75 % or more of the capital carrying voting rights, no restrictions on the transfer of securities or on voting rights referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 nor any extraordinary rights of shareholders concerning the appointment or removal of board members provided for in the articles of association of the offeree company shall apply; multiple-vote securities shall carry only one vote each at the first general meeting of shareholders following closure of the bid, called by the offeror in order to amend the articles of association or to remove or appoint board members.

2. During the period referred to in the second subparagraph, the board of the offeree company shall obtain the prior authorisation of the general meeting of shareholders given for this purpose before taking any action, other than seeking alternative bids, which may result in the frustration of the bid and in particular before issuing any shares which may result in a lasting impediment to the offeror’s acquiring control of the offeree company.

Article 23 of the General Regulations for Tenders and the Award of Service Contracts financed from PHARE/TACIS Funds, in the version thereof applicable at the material time in the present case, provides that the tender procedure may be annulled by the contracting authority in certain circumstances.

The most important features of the proposed directive are: - in line with the principle of subsidiarity, the granting of authorisations will be the responsibility of Member States; - there should be no obligation for Member States to require an authorisation, but if they do so they must be in compliance with the following principles; - the prohibition of any a priori limitation in the number of new entrants, except to the extent required to ensure an efficient use of radio frequencies; - the priority given to general authorisations (every undertaking complying with conditions set out in general rules may offer its services or infrastr ...[+++]ucture), as opposed to individual licences; - national authorisation or licencing procedures have to be open, transparent and non-discriminatory; - the definition of harmonised principles and the provision of harmonisation mechanisms both for the procedures for the granting of authorisations and the conditions attached to authorisations (for example conditions related to the protection of users, in particular in relation to prior approval by the regulatory authority of the standard consumer contract, provision of detailed and accurate billing, provision of emergency services and special arrangements for disabled people).