Paris and Berlin feared a veto from Brussels to the merger Alstom-Siemens. In this context, the economist Jean-Marc Daniel denies that “faith in the national or european champions”.
LE FIGARO. – A veto of the european Commission to the merger, Alstom-Siemens, which would create a european champion, would it be a mistake?
Jean-Marc DANIEL. – This would, on the contrary, perfectly well founded. The european Commission is tracking not dominant positions, but the abuse of a dominant position, that is to say, the ability of the monopolies to fix prices. Here, the abuse of a dominant position is even more plausible that, in this sector, the costs of entry are very high. One cannot just become a manufacturer of the TGV!
Then, the faith in the national or european champions is wrong. It assumes that the more a company is big, the better is its industrial future. This does not hold. Economic theory demonstrates that there is an optimal size of the company. Too small, it has a problem …
