Brussels, 06/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission authorised the British group Vodafone Group Plc to buy the Irish mobile phone operator Eircell Plc, until now controlled by the Irish incumbent telecommunications operator, Eircom. Even if this operation allows Vodafone to penetrate the Irish market and strengthen its European anchorage, the Commission does not fear true competition problems. Eircell is in fact confronted, in Ireland, with competition from Esat Digifone and Meteor. As for Vodafone, it is in competition, in the United Kingdom, with three mobile phone operators, a national market in which Eircell is not present. This operation will thus not give rise to overlaps in activities nor to reinforce a position in these markets. Concerning the wholesale roaming services in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the Commission noted that the acquisition would also not lead to problems, given that there exist numerous competitors in the market. Finally having taken into consideration the impact of the operation on the market for pan-European mobile telephony services to large corporate clients, the Commission felt that the integration of Eircell into the group of European companies belonging to Vodafone would also not lead to competition problems given the relatively small size of the Irish market and the Eircell customers. For this last aspect, the Commission took into account to undertakings made by Vodafone in the framework of its merger with Mannesmann according to which the Vodafone companies and as a result, after the acquisition, Eircell, are held to provide third parties with a non-discriminatory access to the services required for the provisions of seamless pan-European services (see EUROPE of 13 April 2000, p.13).