Brussels, 01/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1 July 2008, the European Commission adopted guidelines on application of EC Treaty rules on restrictive business practices (Article 81) to maritime transport services, further to a public consultation in 2007 (EUROPE 9659). In 2006, the Council repealed the exemption from the EU competition rules for liner shipping conferences. As from October 2008, liner companies will have to assess, themselves, whether their business practices comply with competition rules. Guidelines will help maritime operators understand the implications of this change, and provide details on market definition, information exchange in liner shipping and on operational cooperation agreements between tramp operators (i.e. unscheduled maritime transport of non-containerised bulk cargo), the so-called pool agreements. (C.D./transl/jl)