The EU is preparing to accelerate antitrust clearance of Project Bromo, a
proposed joint venture by Airbus, Leonardo and Thales designed to build a
European satellite champion and reduce reliance on US providers such as SpaceX.
The commission has been consulting the three firms for a year to pre‑identify
and address competition issues; the companies are expected to file in the coming
weeks. If the parties offer remedies such as divestments, the deal could clear
the one‑phase preliminary review (just over one month) without a protracted
in‑depth investigation. Von der Leyen has signalled political support, but the
EU competition commissioner stressed the project must comply with EU competition
law.
