On 15 September 2011, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) dismissed an action by the Commission in which it claimed that the Slovak Republic had breached rules on non-discriminatory access to electricity transmission systems. Prior to Slovakia’s accession to the European Union (“EU”) it had granted preferential access to its electricity transmission network to a Swiss undertaking. The ECJ ruled that Slovakia’s accession to the EU could not affect its international obligations created prior to accession and therefore Slovakia could not be held to be in breach of the rules on access. Read more.