PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Wednesday called for an overhaul of European Union competition rules, citing the difficulties Alstom (PA:ALSO) and Siemens are facing over their planned rail business merger.
"EU regulation of course is not always perfect and there are plenty of good reasons to improve it. Let's have a look at the rules on competition for instance," Le Maire said at a conference on financial technology.
"I'm thinking of Alstom and Siemens' merger project. I strongly believe we have to change the rules of competition in the EU," he added.
Le Maire has repeatedly said in recent weeks that it would be a political and economic mistake were the European Commission to block the tie-up, which he says is necessary to compete against a much bigger Chinese rival.