The European Commission has said it will block a merger between Siemens and Alstom as it would harm competition in markets for railway signaling systems and high-speed trains.
Commenting on the announcement, the European Green Party co-chair Reinhard Bütikofer said:
“The European Commission’s decision to prohibit the merger of Siemens and Alstom is a clumsy own goal that questions whether Europe’s rail industry will continue to be fit to play in the Champions League. Also, this decision proves once more that the competition law in its current form must urgently be reformed.”
“Over the years, the EU28 has done precious little to bring Europe’s competition law into the 21st century. Whilst it rightly protects businesses from the domination of monopolies, it shouldn’t act as a barrier to stop Europe’s companies from competing successfully with Chinese State owned enterprises or U.S. corporations on the international stage. One of the most important challenges for the next European Parliament and Commission will be to rectify this deficiency,” he concluded.
