(BRUSSELS) - The European Commission gave the green light on Friday to Indian group Tata Motors' takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover from US car-maker Ford.

Europe's top antitrust watchdog gave its blessing to the deal after reviewing the deal for competition threats through a fast-track procedure reserved for transactions not expected to pose any problems.

Tata Motors said in March it was buying the two British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover from ailing US carmaker Ford for 2.3 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros), vaulting the Indian company into the premium global car market.

For India's top car-maker the deal is part of plans to expand its reach beyond Asia.

For Ford selling the prestige brands is supposed to help it focus on turning around its North American operations after losing 15.3 billion dollars over the past two years.

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