EU set to change merger laws
The European Union may transform existing competition laws concerning mergers and acquisitions to bring them in line with legislation in the United States.
EU competition commissioner Mario Monti has proposed that existing competition laws be overhauled and that major jurisdictions work on the same basis to create a more explicit law.
A spokeswoman from the commission said: ‘What we are doing is launching a debate on all aspects of merger control and all the procedures to do with merger regulations.’
The differences in merger laws were highlighted last summer when the EU blocked the General Electric/Honeywell merger after the US had approved it.
The US checks whether a merger would cause a ‘significant lessening of competition’ while the EU looks at ‘market dominance’.
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