Brussels, 21/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, surprising nobody, the Council of Ministers adopted formally and without debate the new regulation of mergers with an entry into force of 1 May. The Member States had already reached agreement on this text last November. The new rules will allow companies to benefit from a relaxed timetable, to give them more time and opportunities to put their arguments together. They will also give greater clarity to the assessment criteria applied by the Commission during its examination. Lastly, the rules enshrine the Commission's recent decision to re-organised the teams of DG Competition more efficiently, and the reinforce internal economic competency, with the creation of a post of economist in chief, to be filled as of 1 September by Lars-Hendrik Röller.