Résumé

In this interview, Georges Brondel (1920-2008) recalls an anecdote based on his experience working as Directorate General for Energy at the European Commission during the 1970s. Nevertheless, one could say that this is an “anecdote which is not an anecdote”, as this story was telling as to how concessions were awarded in Europe in the 1970s in general. And the story is not wholly unfamiliar when we consider the ways in which concessions are awarded today. Prior to working at the European Commission, Brondel worked at the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)1, where he directed the Coal Committee in 1950 and then the Electricity Committee in 1954. He moved to the European Community from 1960, and was appointed head of the Energy Department. Here, his main tasks were to help design the framework to regulate oil supply2 and to coordinate the emerging common energy policy3. Brondel´s testimony takes us back to the beginnings of the period when energy concerns started to receive priority attention within infrastructure investments.