NEWS UPDATES

The EU Merger Regulation (Regulation 139/2004) has contributed to more efficient merger control within the EU since it came into force on May 01, 2004. Turnover thresholds have in most cases been effective in distinguishing cases of EU relevance from those with a primarily national focus. Also, the improved system of case re-allocation between the Commission and the National Competition Authorities introduced in 2004 has allowed business to benefit from the Commission's "one-stop-shop" assessment and to have their cases reviewed by the more appropriate authority. <<More>>

The Comisión Nacional de la Competencia (Spanish Competition Authority) has issued a Resolution levying a US$558,578 fine on the Regulatory Board for “Jerez-Xérès-Sherry” and “Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda” wines for approving and applying various arrangements based on the historical sales volumes of each wine seller in the said designations of origin that restrict competition between wine sellers and limit their freedom of trade.  <<More>>

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT), UK has published its report on the local and regional media merger regime in the UK, as part of the Government's Digital Britain review. The OFT report, which focuses on local and regional newspapers, recognises that this industry is facing long-term structural changes. Advertising revenues are in steady decline as advertisers who would traditionally use the local press, increasingly use the internet to place adverts for houses, jobs and cars.  <<More>>

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has decided to cease regulation of the digital data access service (DDAS) and integrated services digital network (ISDN) after June 30, 2009. Acting Chairman, Peter Kell said that in balancing the objectives of regulation, the ACCC was not satisfied that continued declaration of these services would be in the long-term interests of end users.  <<More>>

The protection of consumers and air passenger rights continue to be hotly debated in Canada. This update provides a summary of proposed federal legislation, which is contained in Bill C-310 - An Act to Provide Certain Rights to Air Passengers. If passed, the law would apply to air carriers that operate a domestic service or an international service, including international charters.  <<More>>

The Ministry of Communications, Mexico has announced that it has finalised the conditions for the auction of spectrum in the 1.7 gigahertz (GHz) and 1.9 GHz bands for mobile telephony and Internet access, mainly for both Global System for Mobile Communications and Code Division Multiplex Access technologies. The ministry's conditions are being reviewed by the Competition Commission. <<More>>