  We present the results from an XMM-Newton observation (January 24, 2001) of
the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy ESO 198-G24 (z=0.045). We found that this Seyfert
has an intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity of about 10^44 erg s-1. This source shows
no intrinsic absorption in addition to the Galactic absorption (N_{H}~3 x 10^20
cm-2). We found both with EPIC and RGS that this source possesses significantly
steeper spectra below ~ 1.5-2 keV than observed at higher X-ray energies, the
so-called soft X-ray excess. The RGS spectra reveal no significant narrow
absorption lines suggesting that if there is a warm absorber, it either has a
relatively low column density, or a very high ionization parameter. The RGS
data are well described by the combination of a power-law, a modified black
body continuum, and weak relativistic lines of O VIII, and C VI Lyalpha.
However other interpretations are not definitely excluded. The 2-10 keV energy
band is well fitted by an absorbed power-law with a photon spectral index of
Gamma=1.77 +/- 0.04 (consistent with the typical Gamma~1.7 found in Seyfert 1
galaxies). We found the presence of a narrow Gaussian emission line at 6.41 keV
(i.e < Fe XVII) with a moderate equivalent width of about 60-70 eV, and we
found an upper limit for a broad component, if any, of 75 eV. We also found a
weak absorption edge associated with cold iron with an optical depth of about
0.2.
