Chronological coverage updated 11th September 2026 16:01.
Update 1 · 11th September 2026
Ursula von der Leyen accused of abuse of power over endorsement of €6.5bn space merger
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has drawn sharp criticism from prominent European Union lawmakers after publicly endorsing a major aerospace joint venture before regulatory authorities conducted an antitrust evaluation.
Speaking at a space summit in Paris, von der Leyen praised 'Project Bromo'—a proposed €6.5 billion joint venture involving satellite manufacturers Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales—as an essential industrial champion necessary for Europe to compete in the global space sector against services such as SpaceX's Starlink.
Project Bromo represents a planned €6.5 billion satellite joint venture between European defense and space manufacturers Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales..
Antitrust concerns and institutional friction
The public endorsement prompted immediate pushback from European Parliament competition experts, who argued that high-level political interventions undermine the independence of the EU Directorate-General for Competition.
Politico Eu reportedly quoted Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (French Liberal Member of the European Parliament) as saying: “Endorsing a merger at a conference covered by the media, without any substantive review, is an abuse of power and misconduct”.
The incident reflects growing friction within the European Commission between advocates of national champion industrial policies and traditional antitrust regulators. While von der Leyen has pushed to update merger guidelines to account for global scale and innovation, competition officials have cautioned against granting broad exemptions that could harm market competition.
Politico Eu reportedly quoted Teresa Ribera (Executive Vice President of the European Commission for Competition) as saying: “A blank check for companies to merge under whatever circumstances will not make Europe more competitive”.
- Ursula von der Leyen sparked controversy by endorsing a €6.5 billion European satellite venture prior to competition clearance.
- Lawmakers warned that public statements by Commission leadership risk compromising formal regulatory merger assessments.
- The disagreement illustrates internal policy divides between building pan-European industrial champions and enforcing strict competition rules.
