According to a report from Bloomberg, German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a speech where she criticized the European Union’s merger rules for failing to take into account growing Chinese dominance.
In Berlin, the German leader complained that the EU Commission took no account of Chinese competition when it blocked an industry-changing rail deal between Germany’s Siemens and France’s Alstom.
“How can you say that China won’t engage in Europe in the next five years? I think such a claim is rash,” Merkel said on Tuesday, June 4, to the BDI industry group. She called again for the EU to alter the rules “in order to be truly competitive.”
Margrethe Vestager, the EU antitrust chief who is bidding to head the next Commission, has deflected these calls by pointing to tougher screening for foreign takeovers. She’s instead been pushing for changes to allow regulators to chase down big technology firms, backed by the Netherlands.
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