Berlin  - Lower Saxony may buy 5 per cent more of carmaker Volkswagen if the state fails to win its battle with the European Union over special voting rights at the company, Premier Christian Wulff said Wednesday.

The European Union resumed Tuesday its assault on Lower Saxony's claim to special veto rights through its 20.1-per-cent stake in the carmaker. German corporate law normally reserves such rights to a shareholder with 25 per cent or more of a company.

Wulff said in Berlin he would not rule out increasing the Lower Saxony investment to 25 per cent of Volkswagen, though he resented the insistence by main shareholder Porsche that 25 per cent was needed to exercise such a blocking right at shareholder meetings.

"Otherwise we'll have to buy 5 per cent more. I'd sooner spend the money on other things, but obviously we'll do it if we have to," he said. Lower Saxony is one of Germany's 16 states.

The European Commission said Tuesday it will take Germany to court over its failure to modify the so-called "Volkswagen Law," which has been found to break the EU's competition rules.

The EU executive had previously asked Germany to amend the law in the light of an October 2007 ruling which found that the 48-year-old legislation broke EU rules.

But Porsche, which holds 30.6 per cent of the voting rights and a 22.5-per-cent stake in Europe's largest carmaker, welcomed the Commission's decision. (dpa)