Brussels ‘tougher than US on merger control’

Research findings published in January 2002 by Shearman & Sterling, an American law firm, reports that the European Commission takes a 'much more interventionist' approach to merger control than its US counterparts, being far more likely to seek undertakings or block deals outright. The 11-fold difference revealed in the analysis will provide ammunition for critics who claim that the Commission is too inclined to block deals.