#62024CJ0171CJEU Judgment: EVH GmbH and Others v European Commission — E.ON/Innogy Merger Approval Appeal (Cases C-171/24 P to C-176/24 P)

On 19 March 2026, the Court of Justice of the EU (Tenth Chamber) issued judgment in six joined appeals brought by German regional energy companies (EVH GmbH, Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH, TEAG Thüringer Energie AG, Stadtwerke Hameln Weserbergland GmbH, eins energie in sachsen GmbH & Co. KG, and EnergieVerbund Dresden GmbH) challenging the European Commission's Decision C(2019) 6530 final of 17 September 2019, which approved E.ON SE's acquisition of Innogy assets from RWE AG (Case M.8870 – E.ON/Innogy) as compatible with the EU internal market. The appellants — all competing German regional electricity and gas utilities — had previously sought annulment of the Commission's merger clearance before the General Court of the EU, which dismissed all seven original actions in judgments of 20 December 2023. These appeals to the Court of Justice challenged those General Court rulings under Article 56 of the CJEU Statute. The case concerns the application of EU Merger Regulation (EC) No. 139/2004, specifically the assessment of significant impediment to effective competition (SIEC) in German electricity and gas distribution and retail markets following the landmark E.ON/RWE asset swap, in which E.ON acquired Innogy (RWE's renewables and networks subsidiary) while RWE received a stake in E.ON and other assets. The Court of Justice (Tenth Chamber), composed of President J. Passer (Rapporteur), E. Regan, and D. Gratsias, ruled without an Advocate General's Opinion, confirming the General Court's findings and upholding the Commission's original merger clearance decision.

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