The European Commission said the deal would not raise any competition concerns in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland.

"The merged entity would continue to face strong competition after the merger and customers would still have sufficient alternative suppliers in all markets affected," the EU antitrust authority said in a statement.

GTS, which owns and operates a fibre optic and data centre network throughout the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, provides voice and data services.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by John O'Donnell)