Brussels, 06/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 5 December, under European merger regulation, the European Commission approved the proposed purchase of Lentjes GmbH of Germany by Energy & Environment AG & co KG (AEE), part of the Austrian A-Tec group. The activities of Lentjes and AEE overlap mainly in the engineering sectors and the supply of waste-to-energy plants, used for the incineration of municipal waste. The in-depth investigation opened by the Commission on 3 August 2007 showed that “many credible competitors would remain in the markets after the merger”, said Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes. The Commission had particular concerns over the compatibility of the proposed transaction with the single market in the area of grate-fired waste-to-energy plants for incinerating municipal waste. (C.D.)