The European Commission has referred to the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) the review of a proposed joint venture between Greenyard, the Belgian agri-food group, and Eureden, the French cooperative known for brands such as d’Aucy and Paysan Breton.
The operation concerns the creation of a full-function joint venture combining certain activities of both groups in the production and marketing of frozen vegetables and frozen vegetable-based ready meals.
The Commission decided, in agreement with the notifying parties, that the Autorité de la concurrence was best placed to assess the transaction, given its likely effects on the French market and the national authority’s extensive experience in the agri-food sector. This decision was made under the EU Merger Regulation’s referral mechanism, which allows the Commission to transfer cases to national authorities when the competitive effects are primarily national in scope.
Greenyard, headquartered in Belgium, is an international industrial group active in the processing and marketing of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables. The Eureden Group, based in Brittany, operates as a cooperative involved in the production, processing, and marketing of agricultural and food products—notably vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy. Its consumer brands d’Aucy and Paysan Breton are household names in France.
The referral means that the French authority will now conduct a detailed assessment of the proposed transaction to determine whether it may significantly impede competition, particularly in the frozen food sector. The Autorité’s analysis will likely focus on potential overlaps in production, distribution, and retail channels, as well as the joint venture’s impact on suppliers and competitors in the French market.
This move underscores growing cooperation between the European Commission and national competition authorities within the European Competition Network (ECN), ensuring that merger reviews are handled by the authority most capable of assessing their competitive effects.
The French Competition Authority is expected to announce the next procedural steps in the coming weeks.
