After weeks of tough bargaining, the European Union's competition chief said Wednesday the way was clear to EU approval of a French government rescue deal for engineering giant Alstom.

Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said he had received a "formal written commitment" from French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy containing assurances about the state's plans for the embattled company.

After intensive negotiations to craft a rescue package that respects EU rules on state aid, the Italian commissioner said his pact with Sarkozy was "an excellent basis to safeguard Alstom's industrial future".

"That agreement will constitute the basis that will allow me to submit a proposal to my colleagues to ensure the viability of Alstom," Monti said. The final verdict of the full commission is expected by the end of June.

Monti confirmed the outlines of the deal revealed by officials in Brussels and Paris on Tuesday. It notably requires Alstom to seek at least one industrial partnership with privately owned companies within four years.

The group will also have to hive off about one-tenth of its trains-to-turbines empire to be eligible for a state-led injection of funds that would otherwise have been declared illegal by Monti.

The commissioner, speaking after Alstom chairman Patrick Kron had ruled out any alliance with German engineering rival Siemens, said it was not up to him to decide with whom the French industrial giant should tie up.

"It would be certainly premature on my part or by anybody else to identify probable partners, improbable partners or impossible partners," he said.

But Monti said it was "crystal clear" in the agreement that Alstom cannot ally with companies owned or controlled by the French state unless with the prior agreement of Brussels.

That would appear to rule out a link with the French state nuclear group Areva, which Monti said the commission had already blocked in September after Paris first announced its contentious bailout for Alstom.

The breathing space before Alstom must marry into alliances has led some commentators to argue that France won a victory over Monti. But the commissioner said he himself "insisted firmly" on this requirement.

"I did that because I remain convinced that partnerships will be absolutely crucial to ensure the viability of the Alstom project over the long term."

Monti confirmed that Alstom will have to hive off business worth 1.6 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars), including freight locomotives in Spain, transport activities in Australia and New Zealand and its industrial boiler unit.

Other assets worth 800 million euros would also have to go within two years, but Monti said he could not divulge what they were, while Alstom said they were yet to be determined.

The agreement should give "a promising future for Alstom and a reassuring solution for competitiveness in Europe", the commissioner said.

"This is a satisfactory conclusion of very complex negotiations. I'm broadly happy with the outcome of these negotiations."

Monti, whose term as competition commissioner expires at the end of October, was pressed on what guarantees he had that his successor would keep France to the deal over its four-year timescale.

"I sometimes wonder why the press pays attention to individual personalities. We are acting for institutions here," he responded.

"My successor, I'm convinced, will act exactly like I would act when the moment comes... to follow up on this commitment by the French state."