Municipalities of Greater Lisbon against competition in the privatization of EGF – Jornal de Negócios – Portugal

Five cities, including Lisbon, are against the Competition decision to approve the waste company privatization and decided to proceed to court.

The decision of the Competition Authority to approve the acquisition of Empresa Geral de Fomento (EGF) by Suma, a subsidiary of Mota-Engil, will be challenged in court by several municipalities of the Greater Lisbon area.

The municipalities of Amadora, Lisbon, Loures , Odivelas and Vila Franca de Xira delivered this Monday, August 10, the competition tribunal, a challenge to the Competition Authority’s decision to approve the privatization of EGF.

Suma consortium It was chosen by the government in November to stay with EGF, the waste company Águas de Portugal for an amount of 150 million euros.

The authorities decided to proceed to the court for considers that the merger between EGF and SUMA is “illegal to consider valid and without conditions, a merger clearly creates a monopoly in the field of urban waste management and non-urban”, can be read in a statement on Monday .

This decision “excludes municipalities and their interests in a matter where they have responsibilities and powers that have been ignored not only by the Competition Authority, but also by the government in the process of privatization of EGF” .

This privatization will “enable the SUMA / Mota-Engil go to have the capacity and means to impose conditions of competition which will make it difficult or even terminate the participation of other companies in this market.”

The approval of the concentration of EGF will enable SUMA / Mota-Engil “use the materials and human resources in VALORSUL / EGF to consolidate and strengthen the SUMA / Mota-Engil group at the expense of Valorsul / EGF with severe damage for the people and workers but especially with strong competitive benefits for SUMA / Mota-Engil. “

The challenge of this action will join its own action in the city of Lisbon. Through these lawsuits, municipalities “expect to see restored to legality in this process in which the Competition Authority resigned to take a decision based on the technical and legal reality because only then it is understood that it was possible to give the green light to a totally contrary to business competition laws in force. “