MNI: EU To Weigh Defence Needs When Approving Mergers

The European Commission will amend its merger guidelines to include defence readiness as a factor to be favourably considered when approving EU corporate acquisitions, according to proposals on Tuesday.

As part of the EC's new defence readiness Omnibus proposals, permissioning of projects with a defence dimension would also be fast tracked and public investment rules simplified and streamlined. The proposals will have to go to member states and the European Parliament for approval.

"When there is such a request, a potential merger in the field of defence, it will be assessed like all mergers but it will have a positive starting point," one EU source said.

EU states would also be informed that large public investments for defence industry growth can comply with state aid rules

Officials said that, with the imminent operational start of the EUR150 billion SAFE lending facility, it was important to clarify what states could do with the borrowed funds in order to enable them to ramp up defence readiness as rapidly as possible. (See MNI INTERVIEW: France Ready To Join SAFE Loan Facility)