Merger Control Unchained – On the legal (un)certainty of the substantive test in EU merger control
(2021) JURM02 20211Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Det nuvarande substantiella testet i EUs regim för koncentrationskontroll
infördes år 2004 i syfte att täcka koncentrationer mellan företag som påtagligt
skulle hämma den effektiva konkurrensen på marknaden utan att skapa eller
förstärka en dominant position. Koncentrationer som ger upphov till sådana
så kallade icke-samordnade effekter uppkommer typiskt sett på
oligopolmarknader, varför den upplevda luckan i lagstiftningen kallades
”oligopolgapet”. Genom att stänga gapet vidgade man också testets
tillämpningsområde. Detta orsakade oro kring rättssäkerheten hos testet,
vilken ännu inte har botats.
Denna uppsats behandlar rättssäkerhetsfrågor relaterade till det substantiella
testet i EUs koncentrationskontrollsystem och till... (More) - Det nuvarande substantiella testet i EUs regim för koncentrationskontroll
infördes år 2004 i syfte att täcka koncentrationer mellan företag som påtagligt
skulle hämma den effektiva konkurrensen på marknaden utan att skapa eller
förstärka en dominant position. Koncentrationer som ger upphov till sådana
så kallade icke-samordnade effekter uppkommer typiskt sett på
oligopolmarknader, varför den upplevda luckan i lagstiftningen kallades
”oligopolgapet”. Genom att stänga gapet vidgade man också testets
tillämpningsområde. Detta orsakade oro kring rättssäkerheten hos testet,
vilken ännu inte har botats.
Denna uppsats behandlar rättssäkerhetsfrågor relaterade till det substantiella
testet i EUs koncentrationskontrollsystem och till EU-kommissionens sätt att
tillämpa testet. Genom att identifiera aktuella problem syftar uppsatsen vidare
till att undersöka hur rättssäkerheten skulle kunna ökas vid bedömningar av
företagskoncentrationer. Särskilt fokus ägnas testets tillämpning på
koncentrationer mellan företag på oligopolmarknader.
Uppsatsens inledande del ger en bakgrund till testets införande samt en
överblick över dess utformning och tillämpningsområde. Vidare diskuteras
begreppet rättssäkerhet och fastslås den uppfattning om rättssäkerhet som
antas i uppsatsen och som utgör grund för analysen. Kärnfunktionen hos
rättssäkerheten, det vill säga förutsebarhet, samt rättssäkerheten i EUkontexten diskuteras också.
Analysen ger vid handen att det största problemet vid bedömningar av
företagskoncentrationer är brist på förutsebarhet. De till rättsosäkerheten
bidragande faktorerna härrör dels från lagstiftningen och en osäkerhet kring
det normativa värdet hos kommissionens riktlinjer för tillämpning av testet,
dels från kommissionens tillvägagångssätt vid bedömningen. I uppsatsen
föreslås en dominoeffektiv lösning som främst innebär förändringar i
kommissionens sätt att tillämpa testet och som torde öka rättssäkerheten
samtidigt som behovet av flexibilitet i marknaden beaktas. (Less) - Abstract
- The existing substantive test in EU merger control was adopted in 2004 with
the aim of covering concentrations between undertakings which would
significantly impede effective competition in the market without creating or strengthening a dominant position. Concentrations giving rise to such so-
called unilateral effects typically take place in oligopolistic markets, which is why the perceived gap in the legislation was referred to as the ‘oligopoly gap’. In closing the gap, the scope of the substantive test in EU merger control was widened. This gave rise to concern as to the legal certainty of the test, which has not yet been remedied.
This paper deals with legal certainty issues related to the substantive test in
the EU merger... (More) - The existing substantive test in EU merger control was adopted in 2004 with
the aim of covering concentrations between undertakings which would
significantly impede effective competition in the market without creating or strengthening a dominant position. Concentrations giving rise to such so-
called unilateral effects typically take place in oligopolistic markets, which is why the perceived gap in the legislation was referred to as the ‘oligopoly gap’. In closing the gap, the scope of the substantive test in EU merger control was widened. This gave rise to concern as to the legal certainty of the test, which has not yet been remedied.
This paper deals with legal certainty issues related to the substantive test in
the EU merger control regime and the way the test is applied by the European
Commission. By identifying current problems, the paper further aims to
examine how legal certainty could be increased in merger appraisals. Special
attention is given to the application of the test to concentrations between
undertakings in oligopolistic markets.
The introductory part of the paper gives a background to the adoption of the
substantive test as well as an overview of its design and scope. Furthermore,
the concept of legal certainty is discussed and the understanding of legal
certainty which is adopted in the paper and which forms the basis for the
analysis is established. The core feature of legal certainty, i.e. predictability, as well as legal certainty in the EU context are also discussed.
The analysis suggests that the main problem with merger assessments is the
lack of predictability. The factors contributing to the legal uncertainty stem
from the legislation and the uncertainty as to the normative value of the
Commission’s guidelines for applying the test, as well as the Commission’s
way of applying the latter. The paper suggests a domino-efficient solution
which mainly targets the Commission’s way of applying the test and which
should increase legal certainty all while taking into account the need for
flexibility in the market. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9045299
- author
- Sandberg, Tilda LU
- supervisor
-
- Julian Nowag LU
- organization
- course
- JURM02 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- EU law, civil and criminal procedure, competition law, merger control, legal certainty, significant impediment to effective competition
- language
- English
- id
- 9045299
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-16 14:44:09
- date last changed
- 2021-06-16 14:44:09
@misc{9045299,
abstract = {{The existing substantive test in EU merger control was adopted in 2004 with
the aim of covering concentrations between undertakings which would
significantly impede effective competition in the market without creating or strengthening a dominant position. Concentrations giving rise to such so-
called unilateral effects typically take place in oligopolistic markets, which is why the perceived gap in the legislation was referred to as the ‘oligopoly gap’. In closing the gap, the scope of the substantive test in EU merger control was widened. This gave rise to concern as to the legal certainty of the test, which has not yet been remedied.
This paper deals with legal certainty issues related to the substantive test in
the EU merger control regime and the way the test is applied by the European
Commission. By identifying current problems, the paper further aims to
examine how legal certainty could be increased in merger appraisals. Special
attention is given to the application of the test to concentrations between
undertakings in oligopolistic markets.
The introductory part of the paper gives a background to the adoption of the
substantive test as well as an overview of its design and scope. Furthermore,
the concept of legal certainty is discussed and the understanding of legal
certainty which is adopted in the paper and which forms the basis for the
analysis is established. The core feature of legal certainty, i.e. predictability, as well as legal certainty in the EU context are also discussed.
The analysis suggests that the main problem with merger assessments is the
lack of predictability. The factors contributing to the legal uncertainty stem
from the legislation and the uncertainty as to the normative value of the
Commission’s guidelines for applying the test, as well as the Commission’s
way of applying the latter. The paper suggests a domino-efficient solution
which mainly targets the Commission’s way of applying the test and which
should increase legal certainty all while taking into account the need for
flexibility in the market.}},
author = {{Sandberg, Tilda}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Merger Control Unchained – On the legal (un)certainty of the substantive test in EU merger control}},
year = {{2021}},
}