Remedies in Cross-Border Merger Cases

The roundtable topic was agreed as a follow up discussion to the approval by the Competition Committee of the implementation Report on the 2005 Recommendation on Merger Review [C(2013)72]. The discussion focused in particular on the challenges for agencies when designing, enforcing and monitoring cross-border remedies, and on issues arising when such remedies may need to be revised. Cross-border mergers raise specific challenges for the different competition authorities reviewing the transaction in multiple jurisdictions. This type of transactions requires a high degree of co-ordination and co-operation between the reviewing authorities in order to ensure consistent outcomes across jurisdictions . Co-operation benefits particularly the discussion on remedies. Experience of competition authorities indicates that cooperation is more efficient (i) if the merging parties allow the agencies to engage in effective communication early on in the review process by granting confidentiality waivers, and (ii) if the timing of the different national merger reviews are aligned as much as possible.