Asked if the door was still open for a possible agreement, Vestager said, "We're looking at what was handed over to us this Friday. This is the last push, if at all possible."
Speaking during a visit to Berlin to the congress of Germany's pro-business Free Democrats party, Vestager declined to address any specific changes proposed by the two companies, noting the case was still under review. People familiar with the matter said last week that the EU competition watchdog would block the deal, with a decision likely on Feb. 6 ahead of the Feb. 18 deadline. The rail merger would create the world's second largest rail company with combined revenues of around 15 billion euros ($17 billion), roughly half the size of China's state-owned CRRC Corp Ltd but double Canada's Bombardier.