European Commission Airbus-Safran joint venture

The European Commission has concluded that the proposed creation of a joint venture for space launchers, satellite subsystems and missile propulsion between Airbus Group and Safran is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The decision is conditional upon the exclusion of Safran’s activities in electric satellite thrusters from the joint venture, as well as on certain supply assurance commitments. The Commission had concerns that the joint venture could have shut out Airbus’ competitors or limited their access to certain supplies, as well as transmitted strategic information to Airbus. The commitments offered by Airbus and Safran address these concerns. On