Brussels - The European Union's executive on Wednesday fined Belgian energy firm Electrabel 20 million euros (27.9 million dollars) for failing to inform it of a takeover in France.

The European Commission has decided to fine Electrabel "for acquiring control of Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), another electricity producer, without having received prior approval," the Brussels-based body said in a statement.

Under the EU's rules, companies which plan takeovers or mergers "of a European dimension" have to inform the commission, so that it can check whether the deal will harm consumers' interests.

Electrabel, which is now a part of the GDF Suez group, told the commission that it was taking over CNF in March 2008.

But commission experts decided that Electrabel had taken effective control of CNF in December 2003, even though it formally held just less than 50 per cent of CNF's shares at that point.

"Electrabel is a large company with experience in EU merger procedures and should have known that the 2003 transaction resulted in an acquisition of control requiring notification to the Commission," the statement said.

EU rules allow the commission to fine companies up to 10 per cent of their global turnover in competition cases. In recent years, it has hit industry giants such as Microsoft and Intel with fines of hundreds of millions of euros.

Electrabel escaped with a relatively low fine because "the transaction has not given rise to any competition concerns and Electrabel subsequently voluntarily informed the Commission of the acquisition," the statement said.

Electrabel can appeal the fine to the European Court, but will have to pay the sum into a blocked account while the case is heard.(dpa)