The number of merger decisions that have been published, and therefore that have formally been taken, has dramatically decreased over the years. To give some indication, there were 42 published decisions in 1994 and only 19 in 1997. According to reliable sources, 18 mergers were ‘informally’ cleared in 1996 and 37 in 1997.

However, the apparent downturn in merger decisions has not, so far, resulted in an upturn in restrictive practices-related decisions. The number of restrictive practices-related decisions taken in 1997 was not a significant increase on the number taken in 1996

Vincent Dirckx
Freshfields Deringer
Brussels