Brussels, 27/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - On 27 October the European Commission sent the Lagadère group a statement of objections regarding its plan to buy out Vivendi Universal Publishing but has not explained what these are. Tilman Lueder, spokesman, declared, "I confirm that the Commission has sent a statement of objections today. The content of the letter remains confidential". During a preliminary investigation, the Commission had identified real competition problems, given the dominant position that the new company would have created in publishing in France. According to Reuters, the statement of objections focuses on the combination of forces from the two groups, which will have more than 50% of the pocket book market and a strengthened position in hardbacks. In order to solve this situation, Lagadère proposed some disinvestments to the Commission, which will be looking at the validity of these proposals in the next few weeks. A hearing will take place in November with the different parties, including the competitors.