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The European Commission began its review in January of the acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique by Fincantieri. LOIC VENANCE / AFP

While expected a report on the merger between the French shipbuilders Chantiers de l'Atlantique and the Italian Fincantieri, the European Commission decided Wednesday to open a thorough investigation of the operation. The French finance minister reacted by recalling his commitment to the operation, but the Commission seems to have doubts.

With our Brussels office,

The European Commission began its review in January of the acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique by Fincantieri. The request was made by France and Germany who did not want to arbitrate only the competition issues between the future Italian-French entity and its only other potential competitor, the shipyards Meyer Werft of Lower Saxony.

Already in January, the Commission considered that the transaction was likely to have a significant negative impact on competition, particularly in the global cruise ship market. Its preliminary examination now leads it to believe that the operation would eliminate the Chantiers de l'Atlantique as an important competitive force in this sector of shipbuilding where there are few actors and which is not extensible.

According to the Commission, the complexity of the sector is such that no new shipyard could position itself on this market to compensate for the possible negative effects on competition of the building between the Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Fincantieri.

Rising ship prices, reduced choice for shipping companies and lower incentives for innovation are the three possible consequences of the operation that the European Commission now wants to examine in depth.