BRUSSELS, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. gene sequencing

company Illumina ( ILMN ) on Thursday won the backing of an

adviser to Europe's top court who said EU antitrust regulators

do not have the power to scrutinise its $7.1 billion bid for

Grail nor block it.

The European Commission in 2021 asserted a rarely used power

called Article 22 to assess the deal even though it fell short

of the EU merger revenue threshold, following requests from

several European Union countries.

It subsequently vetoed the deal and ordered Illumina ( ILMN ) to

unwind the transaction which the company had completed before

securing regulatory approval, leading Illumina ( ILMN ) to file a number

of challenges on various grounds.

A lower tribunal in 2022 sided with the EU competition

enforcer, prompting Illumina ( ILMN ) to take its case to the

Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

CJEU Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou said judges should

set aside the General Court judgment because it had erred in its

interpretation of Article 22 and that they should annul

Commission decisions on referral request.

"In one fell swoop, the Commission would gain the power to

review almost any concentration, occurring anywhere in the

world, regardless of undertakings' turnover and presence in the

European Union and the value of the transaction, and at any

moment in time, including well after the completion of the

merger," Emiliou said.

Judges follow such non-binding opinions in the majority of

cases.

The case is C-625/22 P - Grail v Commission and Illumina ( ILMN ).