Mario Monti and Romano Prodi, the European Commission President, have unveiled the new motor vehicle block exemption. It follows 18 months of consultation and lobbying. The new regulation comes into force this October 1, all except for a controversial ‘location’ clause.

Hogan & Hartson has appointed Minda Schechter to the firm’s Los Angeles office. She will join the firm as counsel in the antitrust, competition and consumer protection and intellectual property groups.

Castrén & Snellman has announced that Petri Kuoppamäki is joining it as a partner. Kuoppamäki has been secretary general of the Finnish Competition Authority for the last nine years. Recently, Kuoppamäki oversaw the drafting of guidance required by fresh legislation on restraint of competition and public procurement.

Michael Tscherny, Mario Monti’s spokesperson, is leaving DG Comp for the private sector. He is joining Gplus, a consulting firm specialising in political and media strategy, from September.

Claude Chêne has been confirmed as new deputy director-general at DG Comp. Chêne, 56, who is French, will be in charge of State Aids.

The pharmaceutical industry could be in for a wave of consolidation in the wake of this week’s announcement that Pfizer, the world’s third-largest drug company by sales, will take over rival Pharmacia Corp in an all-stock offer valued at US$54 billion. It is now up to the companies’ competition lawyers to prove that product lines are complementary rather than overlapping. The combined company will have an overall drug market share of about 11 per cent.

Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, has this week been given clearance by the Federal Trade Commission for its acquisition of Immunex, the Seattle-based biotechnology company. Amgen and Immunex announced the deal last December.

The European Commission has given conditional clearance to the proposed acquisition by Swedish telecoms firm Telia AB and Finnish telecoms group Sonera Corporation after an extended six-week phase 1 investigation. Both companies provide a wide range of communication services. Sonera in is the leading provider of mobile and data communication services in Finland. Telia provides international carrier and domestic wholesale services in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

Easyjet and Go, Europe’s two rival low-cost airlines, are to merge. The takeover by Easyjet of British Airway’s former ‘little brother’, Go, will create the largest low-cost airline in Europe, knocking Ryanair off the top spot.

The German Federal Cartel Office is the busiest merger reviewing agency in the world - according to a survey undertaken by 'Global Competition Review'. The German Federal Cartel Office took on 1743 cases last year, 1516 of which were mergers. The Brazilian agencies, including CADE (Brazilian Economic Defense Admin Council), were next, reviewing 584 mergers.

The programmes for Fiesole and Fordham have been released. The International Bar Association's Fiesole event - its "Sixth Annual Competition Conference" is sponsored by Global Competition Review. It will take place in Fiesole on September 20 th .

Kirkland & Ellis partner Robert Robertson has left the firm’s Chicago office to become the most senior antitrust litigator at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington.

Panama’s Competition Commission, the Comisión de Libre Competencia y Asuntos del Consumidor (‘Clicac’) has rejected an appeal by a Colombian drinks maker, Bavaria, that is attempting to buy Baru-Panama, the Peruvian brewer.

Exxon Mobil Corp has sold its Chilean copper mining business, Compañía Minera Disputada Limitada, to Anglo-American Plc. The price paid was US$1.3 billion. Compañía Minera Disputada de las Condes Limitada’s assets include the Los Bronces and El Soldado copper mines and the Chagres smelter in central Chile.

The UK retailer Kingfisher has had its Euro5.1billion bid for the rest of Castorama, the French DIY group, accepted by shareholders. It follows a decision that the bid was "fair" by an independent bank assessor, Rothchilds. Kingfisher may now purchase the 44.5 per cent share of Castorama Dubois Investissements that it doesn’t already own. According to reports, competition hurdles will be cleared soon. The deal is being looked at by the European Commission.