As guardian of the Treaties, the European Commission should intervene ex officio if it considered that Spain’s veto on the acquisition of Talgo by the Hungarian consortium Hungarian chariot endangers the Community single market. In fact, the company has already announced that it will appeal to Brussels to reverse the decision. But the Community Executive has chosen for the moment to wash its hands and stay away.
First, Brussels recognizes that the government of Pedro Sanchez may block such an operation for national security reasons, such as those used by Spain. Of course, as long as you act in a manner “justified and proportionate”In any case, Sánchez does not need prior authorisation from the Community Executive, which would only come into play if the Hungarian consortium filed a complaint, which has not yet happened.
“The prerogative for this type of decision resides in the Member States“So I have no specific comments at the moment,” Francesca Dalboni, spokesperson for the Commission responsible for the internal market, replied at a press conference when asked about the Spanish veto of Magyar Vagon.
[La CNMV tendrá que esperar a una comunicación de Magyar Vagon para desestimar la opa sobre Talgo]
“In accordance with the EU Treaties, Member States may restrict single market freedomssuch as freedom of establishment and free movement of capital for reasons of public security. These measures must be justified and proportionate to the objective pursued,” the spokesperson added.
“Member States are not obliged to inform us of these measures (…) The prerogative to take this type of decision belongs to the Member States and Commission not required to approve Spain’s veto in advance this acquisition,” Dalboni concluded.
The Community Executive He did not want to get into evaluating possible links. of the Hungarian consortium with the radical right-wing Eurosceptic government of Viktor Orbán or with Russia and insisted that it was about applying European rules for corporate purchases.
“Of course, the Court of Justice (CJEU) is the final arbiter in the event of a complaint from one of the actors,” said Commission spokesman Eric Mamer.
