European Economic Area (EEA)
Application of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation)
On 8 June 2004 the EEA Joint Committee adopted Decision No 78/2004 and Decision No 79/2004. These decisions set out the applicability of the EC Merger Regulation to the entire EEA-area.
These decisions are published on the competition web site for information purposes only (see below). Only the texts published in the Official Journal are authentic.
Further to these decisions, by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1033/2008 (Official Journal L 279, 22.10.2008, p.3-12) the Commission has adapted the text of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/914 of 20 April 2023 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 802/2004 ("Implementing Regulation"). For reasons of legal clarity and transparency adaptations needed to be introduced in particular into the Form RS, which deals with information requirements for pre-notification referrals under Article 4(4) and 4(5) of the EC Merger Regulation.
- Text of Art. 53-65 of the EEA Agreement
- Text of Annex XIV to the EEA Agreement (amended by Decision No. 78/2004 and 79/2004)
- Decision of the EEA Joint committee No 78/2004 of 8 June 2004
- Decision of the EEA Joint committee No 79/2004 of 8 June 2004
- Explanation of case referral under the EEA Agreement
Cooperation between the European Union and the United States
- October 2011: Best Practices on Cooperation in Merger Investigations en
- Frequently asked questions en
- 2002 Best Practices en
International Competition Network (ICN): Waivers of confidentiality in merger investigations
Confidentiality waivers enable the Commission to share the merging parties' confidential business information with another reviewing competition agency, facilitating joint discussion and analysis. This leads to more informed decisions and quicker review of the merger. Read more in this explanatory note (website of the International Competition Network). The Commission waiver model can be downloaded here .