Brussels, 05/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission indicated that it was expecting a response from Bertelsmann and Sony this week to questions it had addressed them on 13 April. the Commission requested additional information from the partners about the markets likely to be affected by the merger of their respective music activities, which will be creating a giant in the sector. Amelia Torres, spokesperson for Commissioner Monti explained on Tuesday that the "clock had been stopped" while waiting for the requested documents, which the European Executive should receive before the end of the week. On 13 April, the Commission began a probe into this operation which does pose competition problems on the record markets. If the merger between BMG and Sony is to go ahead according to the current terms, the new entity and the giant, Universal, will grab around half of the market for themselves alone (EUROPE 14 February p 10). The date limit for a decision was set for 22 June, a deadline that has now been put back due to the information being awaited by the Commission.