Introduction

The ultimate decision by the German authorities to approve the recent acquisition by Eon of Ruhrgas has led to calls that this merger should be investigated by the European Commission. It may be helpful therefore to remind readers how mergers can be caught by the EU rules. Regulation No EEC 4064/89 (the 'Merger Regulation') covers 'concentrations' between businesses, which have 'a Community dimension'. There is therefore a two-fold test of structure and size to determine whether a transaction is caught by the Merger Regulation and thus needs to be notified to the Commission (to the ...