For Release:
October 30, 2002 United
States and European Union Antitrust Agencies Issue
"Best Practices" for Coordinating Merger Reviews
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy Muris, Assistant
Attorney General for the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division Charles A.
James, and European Union (EU) Competition Commissioner Mario Monti today released a set
of "best practices" for coordinating future merger reviews. The best practices
were developed by a joint working group of staff lawyers and economists from the three
agencies.
The objectives of the best practices are to enhance
cooperation between the U.S. antitrust agencies and the European Commission (EC) in merger
review, minimize the risk of divergent outcomes, and reduce burdens on parties
participating in merger investigations. Many of the best practices have been in place
informally for a long time. Formal adoption of the best practices will increase
transparency and provide important guidance to all participants in the process.
"These best practices demonstrate the commitment of the
Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, and the European Commission to make
the cross-border merger review process work as efficiently and effectively as possible,
fostering deeper cooperation and convergence," said FTC Chairman Muris. "Today's
action complements bilateral and multilateral measures we have been pursuing in other
fora, as well as the workshops the FTC has held to improve our own merger review
procedures."
The best practices recommend that investigative staffs
establish schedules for conferring with each other and encourage senior antitrust
officials in the United States and the EU to engage in discussions at key moments of one
another's investigations. They also offer merging parties a meeting at an early point in
each review to discuss timing issues. In addition, the best practices encourage joint
interviews of parties and third parties, where appropriate, and provide for increased
coordination with respect to remedies.
These best practices evolved from the work done by the
U.S.-EU Merger Working Group, a group of lawyers and economists from the Federal Trade
Commission, the Antitrust Division, and the EC devoted to promoting convergence between
the United States and the EU on merger policy. During the past year, this group focused on
the details of each agency's merger review process and explored one another's policies
toward conglomerate mergers. During the next year, the Merger Working Group will
concentrate on competitive effects in oligopolistic markets and the evaluation of
efficiencies. |