The European commissioner for competition, Joaquin Almunia, has indicated that he would support cross-border consolidation among operators in Europe, but that his critical view on further in-country concentration remains unchanged.
The comments come…
The European commissioner for competition, Joaquin Almunia, has indicated that he would support cross-border consolidation among operators in Europe, but that his critical view on further in-country concentration remains unchanged.
The comments come amid mounting speculation that the European Commission is set to approve the takeover of Orange Austria by Hutchison within days.
Speaking at a conference in Brussels today about the role of competition policy in times of economic crisis, Almunia addressed claims that the European telecoms market was too fragmented and consolidation inevitable.
“I fully agree that there is fragmentation in this sector in Europe,” the commissioner said. “But the fragmentation that concerns me is the continuing fragmentation of the internal market into separate national markets.”
The European Commission’s competition directorate, headed by Almunia, is currently investigating the proposed in-country merger of mobile operators Orange Austria and Hutchison 3G Austria. The deadline for the review, launched in early May, has been pushed back several times and a final decision is due before Christmas. Almunia has previously expressed doubts that the merger can go ahead.
In September, Almunia had described national telecoms markets in Europe as “already quite concentrated”. He noted at the time that the €1.3bn takeover of Orange Austria would reduce the number of competitors in Austria from four to three.
Hutchison has offered a number of undertakings to the EC and it is widely expected that the regulator is now ready to clear the transaction in light of the remedies offered.
According to a wire report, a decision is expected next week.
