Competition Policy on both sides of the Atlantic - Analyses of mergers that were accepted (or refused) in the EC but not in the US

During the last decade there has been serious change in the global constellations of the economy and hence chances and possibilities of capital concentration and merging opportunities. Will the markets regulate the competition issue i.e. keep the equilibrium or there is need for intervention through Competition Policy? Or maybe, the dynamism of tomorrow’s economy gives sudden/automatic solution to the competition problems? The high profile merger cases have boosted the debate which will tend to expand its reach in the fields of reform versus traditional approach, economics and econometrics versus political interests. Three crucial cases were analyzed. In the first case, WorldCom/MCI, both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission concluded that there has to be a divesture. The second case, Boeing/McDonnell Douglas raised the tensions over the two Atlantic antitrust axes. Nonetheless, it was resolved after strong political pressures undertaken by both sides. The third case, General Electric/Honeywell set the foundations of firm disagreement and urged for much needed reform of the EU legislation and the Merger Regulation, which was introduced after all. Even though now all statements are quite optimistic and claim “convergence” of the competition policies on both sides of the Atlantic, there is little doubt that the European Commission will not try to strengthen its influence over such cases using the improvements of its legislative framework and the experiences gained over the time