Nokia offers no remedies for Navteq deal-EU

BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) has offered no remedies for potential competition problems in its proposed purchase of U.S.-based digital map supplier Navteq NVT.N for $8.1 billion, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday.

That means the Commission must either approve the deal as proposed, or open an in-depth investigation of the world's top mobile phone company's largest takeover to date.

The Commission now has until March 28 to decide whether to approve the deal or move to an in-depth probe.

The transaction would give Nokia -- which is looking for new revenue sources as the mobile phone industry matures -- a stronghold in the navigation business, one of the fastest-growing segments in the technology industry.

TomTom (TOM2.AS: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's top maker of car navigation devices, has its own proposed deal pending before the European Union's executive arm.

TomTom is trying to buy another maker of digital maps, Tele Atlas TA.AS. That deal has already gone to an in-depth investigation, with the resolution set for May 5.

(Reporting by David Lawsky)