Proposal at EU for veto power to European govts on antitrust cases

France and Germany on Tuesday proposed to give the European Council, the forum representing European Union governments, the right to override some antitrust decisions by the European Commission in certain "well-defined cases".

Berlin and Paris want to overhaul EU mergers rules following the European Commission's veto of efforts by Siemens and Alstom to create a European rail champion to compete with larger foreign rivals.

In a Franco-German joint proposal released on Tuesday, the two countries also suggested updating current merger guidelines to take greater account of competition at the global level rather than at the European level. (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Leigh Thomas)