Germany and France furious after UK joins EU nations to BLOCK bid to dominate technology industry

BRITAIN has teamed up with the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain to block electrical and electronic engineering giants Alstom and Siemens from creating a mega Franco-German corporation to dominate European tech industry.

Siemens and Alstom agreed last year to merge certain operations, creating a company with £13.5million (€15billion euros) in revenue and a workforce of 62,000. The pair argued that the main purpose of the project was to establish a European champion to challenge the advance of China’s state-owned CRRC and Canada’s Bombadier. But regulators have raised concerns over the deal, claiming it could block competition by effectively dominating the electrical and electronic sector across Europe. The Competition and Marketing watchdog joined national regulators in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain to express their opposition to the merger.

In a scathing letter to European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the four nations claimed governments would have “little bargaining power” to protect against price rises.

Siemens and Alston have also done little to address concerns over the deal, saying concessions “fall far short” of offering reassurance to European markets.

Index of posts on France