'Back to the Future?' EU Merger Control 30 Years after the Commission's White Paper on the Completion of the Single Market: Case Study of the Automobile Industry

Abstract

This article charts the period between 1985 and 2015 and looks at the impact that the European Union Merger Regulation has had during that time on the ways in which modern businesses can collaborate to innovate. Particular attention is paid to the car manufacturing industry. The car manufacturing industry affects millions of people around the world and the strategic business decisions of automakers can have deep political and economic consequences. This makes it prone to political intervention on both sides of the Atlantic, which can prove to be a burden by preventing rational actions and hindering the implementation of a group’s planned industrial strategy. The case study describes recent developments in the car industry from the perspective of the theories of harm which lawyers and economists have identified as being worthy of the attention of competition regulators.

Keywords: Antitrust, competition, automobile, minority interests, mergers, EU law, collaboration, innovation

JEL Classification: K21, L62, O31