Brussels, 26/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission was to announce on Friday evening the opening of a detailed four-month inquiry on the acquisition of Hughes Electronics satellite manufacturing activities by Boeing. With this acquisition, for the sum of EUR 3.6 billion, of the world leader in communication satellites (Hughes Space and Communication), Boeing will be leader of the world space industry. According to The Wall Street Journal, the US Federal Trade Commission also requested additional information from Boeing on this move. According to the American daily, the direct competitors of Boeing/Hughes Electronics on the satellite launching market, American Lockheed Martin and European Ariane Espace had expressed fears concerning the fact that Boeing could promote its own missiles for the launching of Hughes satellites.