Merger Control in the Eu: Law, Economics and Practice

Dr Edurne Navarro is a graduate and doctor in law of the Universidad de Barcelona and obtained the Diploma in EC Law from the Institut d'études européennes, l'Université Libre de Bruxelles and an LLM from Michigan University. A member of the Barcelona bar, she is Partner with the Uría Menendéz law firm and Director of its Brussels office. She specialises in European and Spanish competition law and regularly lectures on this subject in variousuniversities.

Andrés Font is a graduate in law of the Universidad de Valencia and obtained the Diploma in EC Law from the College of Europe in Bruges. He practised as a lawyer and then became a civil servant in the European Commission in 1993. He has worked in the Directorates General of Internal Market and Competition in the field of mergers and anti-trust enforcement.

Jaime Folguera obtained his degree in law from the Universidad Autónoma, Madrid and a Diploma in EC Law from the Centro de Estudios Constitucionales, Madrid. A member of the Madrid bar, he is Partner with the Uría & Menéndez law firm. He specialises in Spanish and European competition law and regularly lectures on this subject in various universities.

Juan Briones is a graduate in economics from the Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, and obtained the Diploma in EC Law from the Centro de Estudios Constitucionales, Madrid. He first worked as a consultant in matters concerning Community agricultural policy for the Spanish Food Industry Professional Association. He was a civil servant in the European Commission from 1986-98, where he worked in matters related to agricultural policy and the single market programme. In the European Commission he
also worked as a Principal Administrator in the Merger Task Force, in which he participated from the outset of the applications of Community control of concentration operations. After twelve years at the European Commission, Juan Briones moved into private practice, and after spending a year as Associate
Director at NERA, he set up his own consultancy business, e-konomica, advising companies and law firms in competition cases.

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.

1. Origin and Objectives of the Community Merger Control System; 2. The Meaning of the Concept of Concentration; 3. Commission Policy as Regards Joint Ventures Within the Scope of the Merger Regulation; 4. Community Dimension; 5. Definition of Relevant Market; 6. Creation or Reinforcement of an Individual Dominant Position; 7. Oligopolies and Collective Dominant Positions; 8. Barriers to Entry and Potential Competition; 9. Vertical Concentrations and Vertical Aspects of Concentrations; 10. Restrictions on Competition in Concentrations: The Application of Article 81 of The EC Treaty to Joint Ventures and Ancillary Restrictions; 11. Analysis of Efficiency and Unviability. Decisions Granting Conditional Authorization; 12. Procedure in Community Control of Concentrations. Basic Principles. Notifications; 13. Procedure in Community Control of Concentrations: The Commission's Handling of Cases; 14. Institutional Issues; 15. Jurisdictional Control; Appendices of EC legislation and notices