A right EU co ck up?

[woolybanana]

One of the roles of Brussels is to ensure that there is fair competition between companies of member states and that there should not be monopolistic behaviour. Thus French Alstom and German Siemens compete in the internal market for the replacement rolling stock business. Thus far they are independent of each other.

But, now on world and European markets they are having to compete with a huge huge huge Chinese company CRRC which has already out bid them in such markets as the US where they would have hoped to obtain orders.

So, logically, in order to create a bigger company to compete with the behemoth they decided to fuse, creating economies of scale and pooling their R and D. If they dont they reckon they will be just local players doomed to atrophy.

BUT, enter Brussels with its parochial tactics and brain. You cannot combine or fuse as this would be anti-competitive. DUH, the whole idea of Europe has been to create a trading block that can compete on world markets, but no, because they are looking inward only, Brussels has killed that.

Exit left to sounds of manic laughter.

[idun]

This is not the first time this has happened. I seem to remember that a canadian company took something over that had been wanted a merger within the EU and was refused.........

I did see this current thing on french news this week and the reason was that it would stop competition, reduce R&D and in general be bad for consumers........ and that was what the highly paid person from cuckoo land said.

[nomoss]

So at least Brexit leaves the mighty UK manufacturing companies free to negotiate mergers to enable them to compete in world markets.

[woolybanana]

Like ARM Holdings, a real British success story.

Ah, no, oooops, it was flogged to the Japanese who i mediately transferred all the RandD to Japan.

[richard51]

Britains next high speed rail system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5I1dFaglh0