On October 30, 2002, the Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust Division and the European Commission released a set of "best practices" for the coordination of future merger reviews. The guidelines institutionalize a number of practices already informally in use between the US and the EU, thereby confirming the agencies’ commitment to enhancing their cooperation and providing merger parties with useful guidance in the review process.
The US and EU antitrust agencies will apply the guidelines to transactions which they simultaneously review. From the standpoint of merging parties, it is anticipated that such coordination will be sought primarily in sizeable transactions certain to get attention from both the European Commission and the US antitrust authorities.
