PARIS — Some signatories of a joint appeal by French and German business bosses to loosen merger rules and scrap environmental laws to promote European industrial “champions” have distanced themselves from the letter, saying they were encouraged to write it by their national governments.
The letter to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, first reported by POLITICO a week ago, quickly drew rebukes from green NGOs and competition regulators, with France’s Benoît Cœuré challenging the notion that the bloc’s merger rules had prevented the creation of leading European businesses.
Co-authored by TotalEnergies CEOs Patrick Pouyanné and Roland Busch of Siemens, the letter was written “in the name of” 46 chief executives who met with the two heads of state during a high-level, closed-door meeting between industry and the governments in Evian, France, in early September.
But since the letter came to light, some of the French companies it claims to speak on behalf of are backtracking.
The letter is a good summary of the discussion held at Evian, said BPIFrance, the French public investment bank. But its CEO, Nicolas Dufourcq, doesn’t consider himself bound by it, he told POLITICO in a written statement.
Dufourcq said the letter was “not a big effort.” Although he was in Evian, he did not see it before it was published, and therefore doesn’t consider that he signed it.
The letter complained that the current European competition rules “often hinder the formation of European champions” and urged that, by the end of this year, the mandate of the European Commission’s Competition Directorate be widened to consider strategic mergers in the context of the global market. It also demands that EU leaders get rid of EU rules on supply chain transparency.
‘A little strong’
A representative from a second French company among the signatories said that the origin of the letter was “a little nebulous” and that they were not informed of the wording ahead of time. Granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, they said that they did not disagree with the letter, but “the wording is a little strong.”
Even TotalEnergies, one of the two top signatories, has sought to clarify how the letter came about. Shortly after POLITICO reported on it, the company reached out directly to provide “more context.”
“The CEO of Siemens and TotalEnergies were the co-chairmen of the Evian Franco-German meeting gathering 46 CEOs,” a spokesperson said. “They welcomed Chancellor Merz and President Macron during a special session, and they were encouraged by both leaders to express their priorities as CEOs to develop Europe’s competitiveness.”
The letter, he added, “summarizes the 5 top priorities and call for actions in the short term which resulted from the debates between the CEOs.”
Siemens declined to comment in response to TotalEnergies’ assertions.
No German complaints
No criticism has emerged from German companies, which appeared to be aligned with the message. “The letter emerged from the group discussion, so [Deutsche Börse Group CEO] Stephan Leithner, who was among the participants, was involved, and we support the contents of the letter,” a spokesperson for Deutsche Börse told POLITICO.
A spokesperson for Bosch — whose CEO is also listed among the participants — called the initiative one “spearheaded by companies from Europe’s two largest economies.” They added that a central pillar of the demands is “aimed at securing and strengthening the competitiveness of European industry.”
Neither the Elysée nor the German representation in Brussels responded to requests for comment.
Francesca Micheletti and Marianne Gros reported from Brussels, Alexandre Léchenet reported from Paris. Jordyn Dahl contributed reporting from Brussels, and Tom Schmidtgen from Berlin.
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