Commission v Portugal

Commission v Portugal is an EU law case, relevant for UK enterprise law, concerning European company law. Following a trend in cases such as Commission v United Kingdom, and Commission v Netherlands, it struck down public oversight, through golden shares of Portuguese telecommunications companies.

Facts

In January 2008, the European Commission referred Portugal to the European Court of Justice because it considered that the special rights conferred on the State by its golden shares in Portugal Telecom discouraged investment from other Member States in violation of the EC Treaty.

Judgment

The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the Portuguese law violated free movement of capital.