EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes has heavily fined two large energy companies. The German E.on and the French company GDF Suez each have to pay 553 million euros for making illegal agreements in 1975 on acquiring more market share.

When pipelines transporting Russian gas to France and Germany were laid, the two companies agreed not to sell gas on each other's market. The deal ended in 2005.

This is the first time the EU has fined energy companies for cartel formation. The two companies plan to take the case to the European Court of Justice. Both companies are major players on the energy market. E.on had a turnover of 87 billion euros in 2008. The French company, which had a turnover 68 billion euros in the same year, sells Dutch gas on the French and Belgian market.

European Commissioner Neelie Kroes by World Economic Forum (Flickr)