Press

The Commission said the deal would not adversely affect competition in the relevant markets. The acquisition was okayed by the Swedish government in June in spite of protests of environmental activists. The Commission's report says that neither of the parties exerts any competitive constraint on each other. Vattenfall's activities are limited to the Lusatia region in Germany while EPH, via its subsidiary Mibrag, operates open cast mines in Central Germany. Moreover, lignite will still face increasing competition from other sources of energy such as natural gas in the years ahead due to Germany's energy policy aiming to reduce CO2 emissions, which will significantly constrain the parties after the transaction, the EC says, adding that the merged entity will still face significant competition from RWE, the market leader in the pulverised lignite sector. (E15.cz)