According to insiders, the European Commission will ban tomorrow tomorrow the planned merger of the railway lines of Siemens and Alstom. Around noon, a statement by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is expected, as news agency AFP today learned from informed sources.
The German Siemens Group and the French Alstom Group had agreed more than a year ago to merge their divisions for railway technology. The governments in Berlin and Paris are supporting such an „Airbus der Schiene“ especially with regard to the growing competition from China. But the EU Commission is worried about the competition.
Alstom boss: No second attempt with Siemens
In the case of a Brussels veto, the French manufacturer Alstom does not plan a new start. „There will be no second chance,“ said Alstom boss Henri Poupart-Lafarge of the daily „Le Figaro“.
„A veto would be a very bad sign for European industry,“ he added. The Alstom boss described it as „likely“ that the Commission would ban the merger.
The position of the Commission is determined by „ideological prejudices,“ Poupart-Lafarge said. „If we defend the creation of a European champion, certain Commission officials understand“ monopoly „,“ the company chief lamented. Alstom has „excellent relationships“ with Siemens.
