The European Commission announced on 4 October that it had opened an “in-depth investigation” into the joint venture project between the Brazilian Embraer and the American Boeing.
The investigation should make it possible to “assess the proposed creation of two joint ventures by Boeing and Embraer under the EU Merger Regulation”, the Commission specifies.
“We want to ensure that mergers in the commercial aviation sector do not significantly reduce effective competition on prices and product development”, said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
The Commission “fears that the proposed transaction will eliminate the world's third largest competitor, Embraer, in the already highly concentrated commercial aviation market”. It “could therefore result in higher prices and reduced choice”, she adds. The transaction was notified to the Commission on 30 August. It has until 20 February to make a decision. At the end of the investigation, if the Commission's doubts persist, it could request asset transfers.
A project postponed to early 2020. In a joint statement, Boeing and Embraer stated that their project remained “subject to regulatory approval” and had already received a positive assessment from the US authorities. The groups also undertake to participate in the Commission's investigations. They add that the inquiry means that their initial plan to complete their merger by the end of this year would be postponed to “early 2020”.
This announcement comes at a time of high tension between Americans and Europeans. On Wednesday, Washington announced it would hit $7.5 billion worth of punitive European tariff products after receiving the green light from the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the 15-year legal battle between Boeing and Airbus. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)