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 26 July 2008
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)
 
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European Community Merger Regulation (ECMR)

Large mergers with a European dimension may be covered by the European Community Merger Regulation (ECMR) - Council Regulation No. 139/2004.

Broadly speaking mergers involving enterprises with an aggregate world-wide turnover of more than Euro 5bn (around £3.5bn) and where the aggregate Community-wide turnover of each of at least two of the enterprises concerned is more than Euro 250m (around £200m) will be investigated by the European Commission taking into account the views of Member States.

However, mergers where more than two-thirds of the Community-wide turnover of each enterprise concerned is in the same Member State, are not caught by the EC Merger Regulation.

There is also a supplementary set of thresholds designed to catch mergers which would otherwise fall to multiple jurisdiction and a system of both pre- and post-notification referral to and from the Commission and Member States.

The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for UK input to the European Commission on cases being considered under the EC Merger Regulation.

Information on individual cases under the ECMR can be found on the Commission's website.

Public Interest Cases under the EC Merger Regulation

The Secretary of State may also intervene on public interest grounds in mergers being considered under the EC Merger Regulation, where the public interest in question is recognised in the EC Merger Regulation.  In such cases the European Commission will continue to consider the competition issues whilst the UK authorities consider public interest aspects.

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