Blocking of Ryanair takeover bid was not political, says competition commissioner

The EU's competition commissioner has rejected Ryanair's view that the blocking of its takeover of Aer Lingus was a political decision, saying the airline's proposed remedies to smooth a merger failed to allay competition concerns.

Speaking in Washington DC, Joaquin Almunia , vice-president of the European Commission, said that its investigation of Ryanair’s proposed takeover – its second attempt to secure EU approval for the deal – raised “very serious competition concerns”.

A merger of the airlines would have created "very serious overlaps and elimination of competition", he said on his trip to the US capital where he is meeting his counterparts at the Federal Trade Commission.

The EU examined remedies proposed by Ryanair to secure a deal, which involved two other airlines buying about half of Aer Lingus's short-haul routes, but were "not convincing enough to remove the competition concerns", he said. "Was it a political decision? No. The commission is a political body but the guarantees for the parties and the way we have to reason every one of the arguments . . . is much more than a political decision."