IX
Reporting Period : July 01 – September 01
A potential difficulty as regards the planned revision of the Competition Act (see 2001/1 report) was removed in August. The Swiss Federal Department of Finance published the results of a study by an expert, concluding that the imposition of direct sanctions was compatible with the Swiss constitution. At present, the FCC can only impose sanctions in case of violation of a first decision, which reduces the effectiveness of competition policy.
Administrative and Judicial Decisions
Merger Control
On March 20, 2001, the FCC had decided, based on its preliminary investigation, to conduct an in-depth investigation of the merger of General Electric ("GE") and Honeywell. However, following the EU Commission's decision to prohibit the merger, GE and Honeywell officially withdrew, on July 11, 2001, the notification filed with the FCC. Accordingly, the FCC closed the
