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Since its entry into force in 1990, the European Merger Regulation (ECMR) has provided
that the “undertakings concerned” may modify their proposed concentration by offering
commitments to remove the competition concerns identified by the European Commission in its
investigation. Since 1998, the Implementing Regulation has provided for the time limits
and procedure for the submission of commitments under the ECMR, both in Phase I and
Phase II. From 1990 to the end of 2004, from a total of 2,469 final merger decisions, the
Commission cleared 1906 concentrations with commitments (118 Phase I and 72 Phase II
decisions).
The Commission’s practice regarding the treatment of merger remedies has been
continually improved. It was published for the first time in 2001 in the Commission’s
Remedies Notice. In 2003, DG COMP published Best Practice Guidelines on remedies
which included two Model Texts: the Model Divestiture Commitments and a Model
Trustee Mandate. The ECMR, its Implementing Regulation, the Remedies Notice, the
Best Practice Guidelines and the Model Texts have to date provided extensive guidance
to the business and legal communities, setting out the general framework on the types of
acceptable remedies, the procedure for their submission to the Commission and the
requirements for their implementation.
The objective of this Study was to review with the benefit of hindsight the design and
implementation of commitments offered and accepted by the Commission in previous cases
so as to identify areas where further improvements to the Commission’s existing merger
remedies policy and procedures may be necessary in future.
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