
Tata Steel's joint venture plans with German steel giant ThyssenKrupp struggle to clear strict European Union (EU) competition norms. German steel giant ThyssenKrupp recently confirmed that it has submitted a comprehensive package of proposed solutions to the European Commission to obtain clearance for the merger of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe and Tata Steel Europe. The Commission had opened an “in-depth” investigation into the proposed merger in October last year amid concerns that the deal between two of the world's major steel players may reduce competition in the supply of various high-end steels. Following an agreed extension in March for further negotiations, ThyssenKrupp confirmed that it had submitted a "substantial" offer to the European Commission - the executive arm of the 28-member economic bloc. “As we see it, our proposals cover all the concerns expressed by the Commission. The offer is extensive and substantial. At the same time, it is acceptable to the joint venture partners and no risk to the industrial logic of the joint venture," said Guido Kerkhoff, CEO of ThyssenKrupp. While the details of the proposals are yet to be revealed, the Indian and German steel majors are believed to have offered to sell assets in Belgium, Spain and the UK to win the EU's approval for the proposed joint venture. The European Commission is expected to review the latest set of proposals and announce its decision by June 5. The latest development comes at a crucial point for the Tata Group's steel arm, which is banking on its European joint venture (JV) to help set the company on track after suffering from worldwide knocks to the global steel industry over the past few years.