Brussels, 06/12/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission authorised a joint venture that will gather together the nuclear activities of the French company Framatome SA and those of the German Siemens AG on the express condition that Cogema, another French company, is not part of the operation, as foreseen initially. Framatome develops and builds nuclear power stations, equipment necessary for the running of these power stations and the assembly of fuels for them. More specialised in electrical and electronic engineering, Siemens is, nevertheless, also present in the nuclear sector through the intermediary of a subsidiary that will be transferred to the joint venture with its French partner.
Last 10 July, the Commission had received the notification of this operation foreseeing the merger of the two companies cited above and with the addition of Cogema, a French company active in all nuclear fuels. The Commission had started, on 11 August, an in-depth investigation in order to appreciate the repercussions of the operation on several markets for nuclear technology (see EUROPE of 16 and 17 August, p.2). Presented in it initial form, the operation posed competition problems in only one, though very important market: that for the assembly of fuels in the EEA (European Economic Area) for PWR (pressurised water reactors). In order to lift these doubts, the notifying parties undertook to modify their agreements in order for only Framatome and Siemens to have control over the joint venture, without Cogema. All the cooperation agreements between the latter and the new joint venture have been, on the one hand, modified in order to eliminate any direct influence by Cogema over the commercial activities of the joint venture.
Furthermore, EDF (Electricite de France will retain the capital of Framatome and will diversify its suppliers (until now it exclusively supplied itself from Framatome), in order to guarantee that the largest European market for electricity be now accessible to competitors for the new joint company. These two conditions have been judged sufficient by the Commission, which gave its assent, feeling that there now exists sufficient guarantees to maintain competition in the fuel assembly markets.