This book is a Claeys and Casteels title, now formally part of Edward Elgar Publishing. With extensive updating in the decade since the publication of the second edition, and written by the key Commission and European Court officials in this area, as well as leading practitioners, the third edition of this unique title provides meticulous and exhaustive coverage of EU Merger Law.

This book is a Claeys and Casteels title, now formally part of Edward Elgar Publishing.With extensive updating in the decade since the publication of the second edition, and written by the key Commission and European Court officials in this area, as well as leading practitioners, the third edition of this unique title provides meticulous and exhaustive coverage of EU Merger Law.

As a country on the way to integration with the European Union (EU), Turkey has been following EU principles in establishing and improving its merger control regime, as well as overall competition law, keeping pace with changes in relevant EU legislation and case law. This book presents, for the first time, a description and analysis of the relationship between the EU and Turkish merger control law and practice. The second edition of the book considers the legislative changes that occurred in 2020-2021, including the reform of the Turkish Competition Law which introduced the significant impediment to effective competition (SIEC) test into the Turkish concentration control. The authors—all three, both practicing lawyers and academicians in Turkey—focus on comparing substantive, procedural and jurisdictional issues and draw parallels on their regulation in the two jurisdictions. These matters include the following: determining whether a transaction shall be regarded as a notifiable merger, hence be subject to control; financial thresholds used for allocating jurisdictions; extraterritoriality of merger control; relationship between the SIEC test and the dominance test; determination of the relevant market; techniques used for assessment of horizontal and non-horizontal mergers; notification requirements; procedural duties of competition authorities in relation to remedies; third-party rights; gun-jumping fines and other sanctions for failure to comply with merger control requirements; and peculiarities of assessment of mergers in the Big Data world. Each chapter provides an overview of the respective issues in the EU and Turkey, projecting a clear understanding of the main similarities and differences in the two regimes. A notable feature is an in-depth analysis of applicable case law concerning each issue, with most of the Turkish decisions available in English for the first time. The book’s comparative approach will prove to be of great value. With its clear answers to questions about what transactions are subject to merger control, what criteria are used in assessing those transactions, and the main issues that a foreign company should be aware of while merging with another foreign company with effect in Turkey and/or EU, the book will be of immeasurable value for lawyers and their business clients dealing with multijurisdictional merger cases. Interested academics and policymakers will also find much here to attract their attention.

Twenty years of experience have inevitably brought to light challenges and tensions in the enforcement of the European merger control system. Some of these challenges have been faced, some have been solved and some remain latent. This very valuable study starts from the proposition that the EU has never fully acknowledged those fundamental challenges which relate to the rationale behind merger control in Europe. The author shows how the Commission's focus on adapting the rules of merger control to the economic realities of the future business environment, although designed with a view to facilitating European integration, has compromised attainment of legal certainty, transparency and welfare enhancement. In its detailed evaluation of the 'future market structure prediction process' embedded in European merger control policy, this book approaches two rock-bottom, far-reaching questions: In what ways does merger control promote consumer and societal welfare? Is the Commission able to correctly predict the outcome of any given concentration transaction? These considerations take the reader through a deep and searching analysis that calls into question the very credibility and transparency of the system, leading to alternatives which promise a new clarity of purpose and procedure. The author describes how these recommendations can be integrated into the functioning framework of the European project. Taken fully into account along the way is a wide spectrum of relevant source material, including the following: applicable articles and chapters of the founding and subsequent European Treaties; secondary European legislation concerning competition and merger activity; domestic competition laws; guidelines, notices and action plans; competition law reviews, statements of intentions; draft legislative attempts; speeches on the enactment and purpose of merger control; Member States' views concerning European merger control as expressed during Council negotiations; officially available concentration-related statistics; and a wide-ranging literature review covering both the legal and economic sides of merger control. Throughout, the author substantiates theoretical assertions with case law examples, clearly exposing doctrines arising from such cases as Continental Can, Phillip Morris/Rothmans and the Airtours, Schneider and Tetra Laval trilogy. A unique feature of the analysis draws on the author's personal experience while working for a Brussels competition law firm. This book is a remarkable compound of academic guide to the roots and rationales of the European Merger Control System, practical guide to the day-to-day intricacies of merger control enforcement, and 'raw' guide for decision makers and merger control law enforcers. It will be of immense value in all three contexts.

This new Sixth Edition of a major work by the well-known competition law team at Van Bael & Bellis in Brussels brings the book up to date to take account of the many developments in the case law and relevant legislation that have occurred since the Fifth Edition in 2010. The authors have also taken the opportunity to write a much-extended chapter on private enforcement and a dedicated section on competition law in the pharmaceutical sector. As one would expect, the new edition continues to meet the challenge for businesses and their counsel, providing a thoroughly practical guide to the application of the EU competition rules. The critical commentary cuts through the theoretical underpinnings of EU competition law to expose its actual impact on business. In this comprehensive new edition, the authors examine such notable developments as the following: important rulings concerning the concept of a restriction by object under Article 101; the extensive case law in the field of cartels, including in relation to cartel facilitation and price signalling; important Article 102 rulings concerning pricing and exclusivity, including the Post Danmark and Intel judgments, as well as standard essential patents; the current block exemption and guidelines applicable to vertical agreements, including those applicable to the motor vehicle sector; developments concerning online distribution, including the Pierre Fabre and Coty rulings; the current guidelines and block exemptions in the field of horizontal cooperation, including the treatment of information exchange; the evolution of EU merger control, including court defeats suffered by the Commission and the case law on procedural infringements; the burgeoning case law related to pharmaceuticals, including concerning reverse payment settlements; the current technology transfer guidelines and block exemption; procedural developments, including in relation to the right to privacy, access to file, parental liability, fining methodology, inability to pay and hybrid settlements; the implementation of the Damages Directive and the first interpretative rulings. As a comprehensive, up-to-date and above all practical analysis of the EU competition rules as developed by the Commission and EU Courts, this authoritative new edition of a classic work stands alone. Like its predecessors, it will be of immeasurable value to both business persons and their legal advisers.

Co-written by an expert lawyer and economist, this book provides a thorough guide to the economic theory behind the regulation of mergers. The economic theory is then used to analyse the current state of European competition law, and test the success of the European Commission's search for a 'more economic approach' to merger regulation.