This second edition provides an exhaustive analysis of the European Community rules relating to merger control, including the new EC Merger Regulation 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 which entered into force on 1 May 2004 and the latest interpretive notices adopted by the European Commission. The book draws upon the authors' detailed and practical knowledge of the subject as officials at DG Competition and practitioners specialising in this field, and will be updated through a companion website.
As a country on the way to integration with the European Union (EU), Turkey has been following EU principles in establishing and improving its merger control regime, as well as overall competition law, keeping pace with changes in relevant EU legislation and case law. However, as is to be expected, specific adjustment needs engender significant differences in the two regimes. This book presents, for the first time, a description and analysis of the relationship between the EU and Turkish merger control law and practice. The authors—all three both practicing lawyers and academicians in Turkey—focus on comparing substantive, procedural and jurisdictional issues and draw parallels on their regulation in the two jurisdictions. These matters include the following: determining whether a transaction shall be regarded as a notifiable merger, hence be subject to control; financial thresholds used for allocating jurisdictions; extraterritoriality of merger control; relationship between the significant impediment to effective competition (SIEC) test and the dominance test; determination of the relevant market; techniques used for assessment of horizontal and non-horizontal mergers; notification requirements; procedural duties of competition authorities in relation to remedies; third-party rights; gun-jumping fines and other sanctions for failure to comply with merger control requirements; and peculiarities of assessment of mergers in the big data world. Each chapter provides an overview of the respective issues in the EU and Turkey, projecting a clear understanding of the main similarities and differences in the two regimes. A notable feature is an in-depth analysis of applicable case law concerning each issue, with most of the Turkish decisions available in English for the first time. In addition to these practical issues, the book’s comparative approach will prove to be of great value. With its clear answers to questions about what transactions are subject to merger control, what criteria are used in assessing those transactions, and the main issues that a foreign company should be aware of while merging with another foreign company with effect in Turkey and/or EU, the book will be of immeasurable value for lawyers and their business clients dealing with multijurisdictional merger cases. Interested academics and policymakers will also find much here to attract their attention.
Succinct and concise, this textbook covers all the procedural and substantive aspects of EU competition law. It explores primary and secondary law through the prism of ECJ case law. Abuse of a dominant position and merger control are discussed and a separate chapter on cartels ensures the student receives the broadest possible perspective on the subject. In addition, the book's consistent structure aids understanding: section summaries underline key principles, questions reinforce learning and essay discussion topics encourage further exploration. By setting out the economic principles which underpin the subject, the author allows the student to engage with the complexity of competition law with confidence. Integrated examples and an uncluttered writing style make this required reading for all students of the subject.
This is the 4th edition of The EC Merger Regulation - a detailed guide to the method of merger control in the European Union. Fully revised for 2012, this comprehensive text describes how the European Commission determines approval of a notified merger, thereby providing information and techniques to complete merger deals successfully for companies operating in the European Union
This new Sixth Edition of a major work by the well-known competition law team at Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels brings the book up to date to take account of the many developments in the case law and relevant legislation that have occurred since the Fifth Edition in 2010. The authors have also taken the opportunity to write a much-extended chapter on private enforcement and a dedicated section on competition law in the pharmaceutical sector. As one would expect, the new edition continues to meet the challenge for businesses and their counsel, providing a thoroughly practical guide to the application of the EU competition rules. The critical commentary cuts through the theoretical underpinnings of EU competition law to expose its actual impact on business. In this comprehensive new edition, the authors examine such notable developments as the following: important rulings concerning the concept of a restriction by object under Article 101; the extensive case law in the field of cartels, including in relation to cartel facilitation and price signalling; important Article 102 rulings concerning pricing and exclusivity, including the Post Danmark and Intel judgments, as well as standard essential patents; the current block exemption and guidelines applicable to vertical agreements, including those applicable to the motor vehicle sector; developments concerning online distribution, including the Pierre Fabre and Coty rulings; the current guidelines and block exemptions in the field of horizontal cooperation, including the treatment of information exchange; the evolution of EU merger control, including court defeats suffered by the Commission and the case law on procedural infringements; the burgeoning case law related to pharmaceuticals, including concerning reverse payment settlements; the current technology transfer guidelines and block exemption; procedural developments, including in relation to the right to privacy, access to file, parental liability, fining methodology, inability to pay and hybrid settlements; the implementation of the Damages Directive and the first interpretative rulings. As a comprehensive, up-to-date and above all practical analysis of the EU competition rules as developed by the Commission and EU Courts, this authoritative new edition of a classic work stands alone. Like its predecessors, it will be of immeasurable value to both business persons and their legal advisers.
Economic issues play a pivotal role in competition enforcement. Integrating economic and legal analysis throughout, this work provides expert coverage of both the substantive and procedural law relating to merger control in the EU, considering EU and national case law. The key substantive and procedural issues in the US are also considered.
By their nature, remedies are central to competition law enforcement and represent the yardstick against which the efficiency of the overall system can be measured. Yet very rarely have remedies been treated in a horizontal and comprehensive manner from the combined perspectives of substance, process and policy. The present volume, developed in partnership with the College of Europe’s Global Competition Law Centre (GCLC), provides coherent, practical, and authoritative commentaries by leading experts from the GCLC’s incomparable network. The contributions – originally presented at the 2019 GCLC annual conference – examine remedies to assess the overall effectiveness of competition law enforcement in merger, antitrust and State aid matters. The overall topic is presented under five headings: objectives and limitations of remedies; types of remedies in competition law enforcement; implementation and process; ex post assessment of remedies and policy lessons; and national and international approaches. The high-profile and wide-ranging group of authors includes the Director-General of the European Commission’s competition department, lawyers from major international firms, and well-known economists and academics specialising in competition law. With a sharp focus on how to make competition rules work well in today’s digital environment, this systematic and coherent analysis illuminates an issue that we need to fully grasp and understand in order to make sense of competition policy, law and enforcement in the years and decades to come.
This book analyzes the specifics of corporate governance of China's State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) and their assessment under EU merger control, which is reflected in the EU Commission's screening of the notified economic concentrations. Guided by the going global policy and the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese SOEs have expanded their global presence considerably. Driven by the need to acquire cutting edge technologies and other industrial policy considerations, Chinese SOEs have engaged in a series of corporate acquisitions in Europe. The main objective of this book is to demonstrate the conceptual and regulatory challenges of applying traditional merger assessment tools in cases involving Chinese SOEs due to the specifics in their corporate governance and the regulatory framework under which they operate in China. The book also explores the connection between the challenges experienced by the merger control regimes in the EU and the recent introduction of the EU foreign direct investment screening framework followed by a proposal concerning foreign subsidies. The book will be a useful guide for academics and researchers in the fields of law, international relations, political science, and political economy; legal practitioners dealing with cross-border mergers and acquisitions; national competition authorities and other public bodies carrying out merger control; policy makers, government officials, and diplomats in China and the EU engaged in bilateral economic relations.
