The European Union's competition department has sought feedback from Europe's trading community on whether the concessions proposed by tie-up partners NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse are technically workable and sufficiently address competition concerns, in a revealing questionnaire that outlines the authority's initial concerns regarding the deal.

NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse said last Thursday that they would divest parts of their equity derivatives business and allow partial access to the German exchange's Eurex clearing house in a bid to gain regulatory approval for the landmark merger that is currently the subject of an EU antitrust investigation.