"We prohibited the merger to avoid serious harm to European industrial customers and consumers," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

Brussels: The EU's powerful anti-trust authority on Tuesday blocked the merger of German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp with Indian steel giant Tata, an expected veto that kills the deal.

"We prohibited the merger to avoid serious harm to European industrial customers and consumers," EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

The aim of the merger had been to create the second largest European steel company behind multinational giant ArcelorMittal and to join forces in the face of the surge of Chinese steel.