Brussels, 11/07/2005 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has given conditional clearance to the creation of a joint venture between Dutch newspaper publishers PCM Holding (“PCM”) and Koninklijke Wegener (“Wegener”) through the combination of some of their newspapers. The joint venture will publish a new national daily with local editions in the Randstad region of the Netherlands. Wegener is active in the publishing of regional daily newspapers, free sheets and special interest magazines as well as the development and sale of internet products and of graphical products and services in the Netherlands. In the direct marketing sector, Wegener subsidiaries are also active in Belgium, France, the UK and Scandinavia. PCM is active in the publishing of regional and national daily newspapers, free sheets, books and the development and sale of educational and professional software in the Netherlands. The joint venture will combine one of PCM's national daily newspapers and two of Wegener's regional newspapers in a new newspaper, with an innovative “national-regional” format. Its 19 different editions will have both a common national segment and local news. Outside the Randstad region, a purely national edition will be available. Regarding competition concerns arising from possible co-ordination of Wegener with PCM and the joint venture in the sale of advertising space, it is expected that Wegener, PCM and the joint venture would together have a market share of around 50% of national advertising in the Netherlands. The transaction raised serious doubts as to the possible alignment of their activities in this market but the Commission argued that Wegener's pledge to refrain from selling or offering advertisement space jointly with advertisement space in the daily newspapers of PCM or the joint venture would eliminate the competition concerns.