An adviser to Europe's highest court on Thursday backed EU competition authorities which want De Beers to stop buying diamonds from Russia's Alrosa to boost its dominant role in the diamond trade. The legal opinion of European Advocate General Juliane Kokott goes against an earlier court ruling.
While not binding, the advocate general's opinions are normally accepted by the European courts in Luxembourg. The opinion comes ahead of a final judgement expected in the coming months. The European Commission in 2006 banned South African De Beers from obtaining rough diamonds from Russian rival Alrosa as of 2009 but this decision was overturned by the European Court of First Instance after De Beers appealed.
The advocate general on Thursday however said that the decision to ban the De Beers-Alrosa arrangement "was not arbitrary but well-founded on objective considerations," following investigation of the diamond market. De Beers accounts for around 40 percent of the world diamond market. EU competition officials say the deal with Alrosa, the world's second biggest supplier, has enabled De Beers to control the price of diamonds.