The Standard of Proof in EC Merger Control-Conclusions from the Sony BMG Saga. IES WORKING PAPER 4/2008

One of the most important developments in EC competition policy during 2006 was the Court of First Instance’s (CFI) Impala v. Commission judgment annulling the European Commission’s approval of the merger between the music units of Sony and Bertelsmann. It harshly criticized the Commission’s Decision because it found that the evidence relied on was not capable of substantiating the conclusion. This was the first time that a merger decision was annulled for not meeting the requisite legal standard for authorizing the merger. Consequently, the CFI raised fundamental questions about the standard of proof incumbent on the Commission in its merger review procedures. On July 10, 2008, the European Court of Justice overturned Impala, yet it did not resolve the fundamental question underlying the judicial review of the Sony BMG Decision; does the Commission have the necessary resources and expertise to meet the Community Court’s standard of proof? This paper addresses the wider implications of the Sony BMG saga for the Commission’s future handling of complex merger investigations. It argues that the Commission may have set itself an impossible precedent in the second approval of the merger. While the Commission has made a substantial attempt to meet the high standard of proof imposed by the Community Courts, it is doubtful that it will be able to jump the fence again in a similar fashion under normal procedural circumstances.

Saga de Sigrida la Blonda,

"Tirada de 1,000 ejemplares."

Eine Sage = [music] : En saga : Tondichtung für grosses Orchester, Op. 9 /

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The Forsyth saga.

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Die prosaische Edda im auszuge nebst Vo̜lsunga-saga und Nornagests-Þáttr /

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SAGA, a system to automate the management of software production /

"UILU-ENG 81 1702"--Cover.

The American Home Economics Association, 1950-1958. A supplement to the AHEA saga,

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The Valley of Gods̓ Pleasure; a saga of the North Union Shaker community.

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Insides out,: being the saga of a drama critic who attended his own opening /

Mode of access: Internet.