Brussels, 11/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 10 July, the European Commission adopted a set of guidelines explaining the Commission's current practice with regard to jurisdictional issues in merger control. The new 'Jurisdictional Notice' (guidelines) consolidates the existing texts and adapts them in the light of both recent judgements of the European courts and the new Merger Regulation adopted in 2004, to provide up-to date guidance on the Commission's competence to review a transaction under the EU Merger Regulation.
The consolidated Commission Notice will replace the current four Jurisdictional Notices adopted in 1998 under the previous Merger Regulation (Council Regulation 4064/89), namely (i) the Notice on the concept of concentration, (ii) the Notice on the concept of full-function joint ventures, (iii) the Notice on the concept of undertakings concerned, and (iv) the Notice on calculation of turnover. The guidelines therefore cover all issues of jurisdiction relevant for establishing the Commission's competence under the new Merger Regulation. The only jurisdictional issue not in the guidelines is case referrals, which are dealt with by the Commission Notice on Case Referrals (Official Journal C 56, 05.03.2005, p. 2). Tuesday's guidelines take account of comments submitted by interested parties, which can be accessed at http: //ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/mergers/legislation/draft_jn.html. (cd)