Telefonica offered concessions to the European Commission (EC) in a bid to clinch regulatory approval for its proposed €8.6 billion takeover of KPN’s E-Plus in Germany, according to Reuters.

It’s not clear what the concessions are, but both the EC and Germany’s telecoms regulator reportedly want Telefonica and E-Plus to give up spectrum in the 900MHz and 1.8GHz frequency bands as part of any merger approval.

While Telefonica Germany declined to comment on the nature of the concessions, spokesman Albert Fetsch told Reuters that “we remain confident that we will get merger clearance in the second quarter”.

Hutchison’s 3 Ireland has also submitted a number of potential “remedies” to try and allay anti-trust concerns about its bid for Telefonica’s Irish unit.

They are believed to include the setting up of a new MVNO, which would later be able to buy some of the merged company’s radio spectrum and customer base.

As competitive and regulatory pressures continue to take their toll, mobile operators are looking to the commission’s decisions on Germany and Ireland as test cases of its willingness to reduce the number of mobile network operators in EU member states.

EC said it would decide on Telefonica’s bid for E-Plus by 23 June.