The European Commission recently reaffirmed that industrial
policy objectives have no role to play when it comes to applying
the EU merger control rules. Despite unusually intense industrial
and political pressure to get the Siemens/Alstom railway merger
done, Competition Commissioner Vestager has forcefully reiterated
that the substantive test under the EU Merger Regulation remains
exclusively competition based.
Prior to the promulgation of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR),
the issue of whether industrial policy should be factored into the
European Commission's (EC's) review of a merger was a
heated one. Industrial policy has, however, been categorically
excluded as a factor to be taken into account when reviewing a
transaction's compatibility with the EU internal market. The
test under which transactions are assessed under the EUMR is, and
has always been, exclusively competition based. General
Electric/Honeywell (2001), Schneider/Legrand (2001),
Volvo/Scania (2000)
