The European Commission said Wednesday it launched a probe to investigate whether a deal by German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) and France's Areva SA (CEI.FR) on the conditions for ending a nuclear power joint venture violates competition rules.
The European Commission said Wednesday it launched a probe to investigate whether a deal by German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) and France 's Areva SA (CEI.FR) on the conditions for ending a nuclear power joint venture violates competition rules.

The commission "has opened proceedings to assess whether non-compete clauses... in the field of civil nuclear technology may be in violation of EU antitrust rules" and the abuse of dominant positions, it said in a statement.

The non-compete clauses concern the companies' Areva NP joint venture, the commission said. The start of a probe "means the case merits investigation. It does not prejudge the final outcome," the commission explained.

The commission statement confirmed what a person familiar with the matter told Dow Jones Newswires earlier Wednesday. The person explained that the commission is investigating a clause in the joint venture contract that prohibits Siemens from developing other nuclear power plants either alone or with partners for eight years should the joint venture with Areva be dissolved.

Siemens hopes the commission will rule to shorten the competition ban, the person told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday.

A commission spokeswoman said later Wednesday that a complaint by Siemens itself prompted the European Union's antitrust body to open the probe.

In 2009, Siemens said it wanted to leave the joint venture and shortly after said it hoped to team up with Russian nuclear power state corporation Rosatom instead. Since then, the French and the German companies have argued over the terms of disbanding the joint venture, with Siemens wanting to sell its 34% stake to Areva, and the French company saying its partner must respect the non-compete clause before pairing up with Rosatom.

Areva has said it might agree to drop its demand in exchange for a discount on the price of the stake, but if the clause was found illegal, the company would lose its leverage. Siemens' stake in the joint venture is worth about EUR2 billion.

A spokeswoman for Areva said the company will cooperate with the European Commission and that it is confident about the solidity of its position.

A spokesman for Siemens said the Munich-based conglomerate "welcomes the statement by the EU Commission." The spokesman added that Siemens had asked the commission to look into the matter.

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