EU-US Merger Control Cooperation: a Model for the International Antitrust?

Abstract

Present research paper is targeting an evolving area of international antitrust – merger control regulation and cooperation. Prompted by the recent developments in the European and US legal reforms in this area, present work provides an original analysis of the EU-US merger control cooperation mechanism and its role in the international antitrust. The EU-US cooperation model is placed in the international framework of the existing antitrust agreements, policy proposals and regulatory unification and harmonization concepts developed by the international organizations and academia.

Bilateral interagency cooperation in the matters of merger control is assessed according to the possibility of its international application and in comparison with other multilateral and unilateral alternatives. The conclusion of the paper provides an open-ended answer on the research question: what is the possible role that bilateral interagency cooperation based on the EU-US model can play in international antitrust. The outcome of the present research is leading to the position that bilateral interagency cooperation mechanism in the matters of merger control as the one developed between EU and US provides a viable and efficient solution that should be further researched and developed. The analysis of other available alternatives shows that it is very unlikely that any of them would be implemented in the near future. For the purposes of facilitating international mergers and avoiding conflicts in the extraterritorial application of merger control regulations, interagency cooperation yields immediate results and mutual benefits for the merging companies and antitrust enforcement authorities