Brussels, 12/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission authorised the acquisition of German rail producer Thyssen Schienen Technik GmbH by Voest-Alpine Stahl AG, an Austrian steel manufacturer. This operation will make Voest-Alpine Stahl the largest producer of rails in the European Union, with approximately 34% of the rail market in the European Economic Area (EEA), but it will face competition from other large producers such as Corus and Lucchini, with market shares of between 17% and 29%, and from producers in Central and Eastern Europe that in 1999 accounted for about 8% of EEA steel consumption. As the operation will not give the new entity the power to evade the competition rules set out in the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty, it fulfils the authorisation conditions set out in Article 66, paragraph 2, of the ECSC Treaty and the Commission therefore authorised it.