Royal Bank of Scotland and Spain's Santander won approval from the European Union on Wednesday for a three-bank consortium bidding for Dutch bank ABN Amro.

The three-bank consortium, which also includes the Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis, announced their bid for ABN Amro's entire share capital on May 29, 2007, a deal worth 71.1 billion euros, the world's largest ever takeover in the banking sector.

If the bid is successful, it will lead to the break-up of ABN Amro assets among the three banks.

The European Commission, the EU's antitrust watchdog, said the proposed acquisitions of certain assets of ABN Amro by both Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander would not significantly impede effective competition in the EU or any substantial part of it.

Fortis' proposed acquisition of the remaining ABN Amro's assets is currently being reviewed by the commission and a decision is expected before Oct. 3, 2007.

The trio were in a bidding war against British banking giant Barclays, which offered 65.5 billion euros in shares and cash for ABN Amro. The Dutch bank's shareholders were scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the rival bids.