The European Commission on Tuesday extended its review of GE’s €12.4 billion bid for Alstom after GE signaled it was prepared to make concessions to allay regulators’ concerns.

“We still believe in the merits of the case and we continue to argue them,” said Jim Healy, a GE spokesman. “We are willing to explore remedies to get the deal done, but only remedies that preserve the economics of the deal and the strategic value.”

However, he said it was too early to speculate on what kind of remedies the company would offer to regulators who are worried about the loss of competition in Europe’s gas turbine industry.

GE announced its bid for Alstom’s energy business in April 2014. The deal was met with an immediate backlash from France’s socialist government, which rushed through a law to block a takeover and played an active role in later negotiations. It eventually gave its blessing after GE committed to bolstering Alstom’s rail business and hiring more employees in France.

But Paris’s blessing offered no guarantee the deal would be approved in Brussels. The Commission has extended its deadline to August 21, after a pause of almost three weeks.

The Commission had stopped its review of the bid for Alstom because it was missing information from the parties, said Ricardo Cardoso, a Commission spokesperson.

Fourteen years ago, the Commission scuttled GE’s plans to acquire Honeywell International, even though US regulators had given the green light.

Jeff Immelt, GE’s chief executive, was in Brussels on Tuesday and met with Vestager. He described the talks as “constructive.”

GE contends that the market for heavy-duty gas turbines is global, with the same firms from Europe, the US, Japan and China competing for contracts worldwide. The company also argues any supposed European market for gas turbines is effectively dormant, with many power plants sitting idle. The firm’s customers are supportive of the deal, the GE spokesman added.

The review may now turn on whether GE can offer remedies that would resolve the Commission’s concerns. Servicing existing gas turbines is an important part of Alstom’s business and one that GE has coveted.

Philippe Nogues, a lawyer at the firm of O’Melveny & Myers, said the pause was probably positive for the parties: “the Commission is saying we need to stop the clock and give you more time to think about where this case is going.”

Yet GE is concerned that the slow regulatory process and ensuing delay is taking a toll.  Alstom reported fiscal year earnings Tuesday, showing the businesses being sold to GE reported net income of €104 million ($116.8 million), down from €396 million in the prior 12-month period.

“All sides need to get through this process and get the thing closed as soon as possible,” said Healy.