Brussels, 18/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has referred to the German Competition Authority, the Bundeskartellamt, the examination of the impact of the proposed acquisition by Haniel Baustroff-Industrie Zuschlagstoffe GmbH of Fels-Werke GmbH in the German wall building materials markets. On 28 September this year, the Bundeskartellamt had requested of the Commission that it be allowed to examine the impact that the merger would have on Germany, as there is a danger that a dominant position could be created on the German wall building market. The Community regulation on concentrations stipulates that, when a merger has particular consequences on the territory of a Member State, the matter can be dealt with by the Member State concerned. Considering that this condition had been fulfilled, the Commission accepted the request by the Bundeskartellamt which at present has four months in which to reach a final decision. In parallel, the Commission noted that the operation will also affect the Dutch market and decided to initiate its own detailed investigation on this chapter of the matter.