Strict EU enforcement of competition rules prevents the development of the global champions necessary to compete with Chinese and US companies, the head of shipping company Maersk warned in an interview.
“Is it really a good idea that we don’t allow the creation of a European global champion? In doing so, we risk being outperformed by a Chinese company, over which the European Union has no influence,” Maersk CEO Soren Skou told Danish business daily Finans. A Maersk spokeswoman confirmed his comments to Reuters.
Skou is a member of the European Round Table for Industry, a lobby group of 55 CEOs and chairs of large European companies. Last month, the group urged the EU to develop a new strategy to enhance global competitiveness.
The calls came after Brussels last year blocked a merger of the rail divisions of Siemens and Alstom.
The collapse of the deal prompted Germany and France to call for an overhaul of EU competition policy to better meet global challenges.
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