The Reform of the European Control Merger Regulation in the Aftermath of the Airtours Case - The Eagerly Expected Debate: SLC v Dominance Test

The Commission in dealing with merger cases is bound to a teleological approach, taking into account the purpose and intent of the ECMR. This paper will focus on the current criteria used in assessing collective dominance as they have been formulated after the landmark decision of the CFI in the Airtours case. In addition, we will review the proposals to amend the ECMR that the European Commission recently published in the Green Paper and adopted in Council Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation -- “ECMR”). The reforms concern issues of jurisdiction, substance and procedure, and aim at simplifying and making the Commission's review of major European cross-border mergers speedier and more efficient. We will also analyse the Horizontal Merger Guidelines that were adopted as part of the reform package.