Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
E

European Commission v. Portuguese Republic

Case C-212/09, 2011 E.C.R. I-10889 (2011)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

European Commission v. Portuguese Republic

European Union Court of Justice
Case C-212/09, 2011 E.C.R. I-10889 (2011)

Facts

To privatize its energy sector, Portugal (defendant) set up a stock corporation to own and operate enterprises formerly run by the state. One such corporation, GALP Energia SGPS SA (GALP), offered shares to the public. However, in accordance with the rules set by Portugal, the Portuguese government retained special shares, known as golden shares, that granted the holder of such shares special powers, including the power to veto amendments to GALP’s articles of incorporation and to appoint GALP’s chairman of the board. The European Commission (plaintiff) brought an infringement action against Portugal, alleging that retaining such golden shares by the Portuguese government violated the free movement of capital. Portugal argued that the golden shares were necessary to guarantee Portugal’s energy supply, noting that without the golden shares, investments in GALP made by sovereign wealth funds or investments linked to terrorist groups could threaten Portugal’s energy supply.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 824,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 989 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

European Union Law

Key Terms