Politicians in Paris and Berlin bitterly complained about Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager’s move to block the deal. | Samuel Corum/Getty Images
In a compelling defense of her tenure, Margrethe Vestager, the formidable European Competition Commissioner, spotlighted her pivotal decisions—most notably her subsequent endorsement of Alstom’s merger with Bombardier, alongside the sustained triumph of Siemens. “They’ve managed to stand on their own feet, competing vigorously and flourishing,” she asserted during a recent forum at the College of Europe’s Global Competition Law Centre.
In contrast to the dismal sentiments echoed back home, figures like Mundt remain undaunted by the bloc’s merger vetoes. He rather pointedly declared, “Both entities continue to thrive, fiercely competing, and the influx of Chinese corporations onto European soil remains distinctly low.”
Vestager didn’t stop there; she elaborated on other major European consolidations she has greenlit, such as the staggering €100 billion purchase of SABMiller by the Belgian behemoth AB InBev in 2016, and the transformative union of automotive giants Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot—ushering in a new era that crowned them the fourth largest global player by volume and the third by revenue in 2020.
“What we’re discussing transcends mere size; it’s about resilience in the face of challenge,” Vestager posited passionately at the same event, underscoring her belief that companies must endure robust domestic competition to effectively navigate the global market. “Consider the Olympic champions—they were sculpted by the rigors of competition at home, enabling them to emerge victorious on the world stage,” she metaphorically conveyed, drawing a parallel that resonated deeply.
The Question of European Giants
However, the quest to cultivate mammoth firms within crucial sectors has sparked debate. Natalie Harsdorf-Borsch, head of the Austrian competition authority, candidly expressed her skepticism regarding this notion of engendering a “European champion.” “When discussions shift towards forming such giants, my instinct as an enforcer is to probe further—who decides, based on what criteria?” she remarked, flagging the complexities entwined within this burgeoning narrative of industrial supremacy.
