Just How Honest Does One Have to Be with the Commission? The Lessons from the Merck/Sigma-Aldrich Case
Competition Policy International, Columns Europe, October 2022, https://www.competitionpolicyinternational.com/just-how-honest-does-one-have-to-be-with-the-commission-the-lessons-from-the-merck-sigma-aldrich-case/
7 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2022
Date Written: October 17, 2022
Abstract
The Sigma-Aldrich case sheds light on an issue which competition lawyers face almost daily: how truthful do you have to be to the Commission? Can you avoid giving away unfavorable information by side-stepping the question? By replying to the question in a narrow way? By using words in a somewhat peculiar meaning? To put it in language that any child would understand: can you answer the question “did you eat any snacks?” by replying “I ate neither cookies nor candy”, if you know that you just ate a bucket of ice cream?
The article summarizes (1) the background to the case, (2) the Commission's finding that Sigma-Aldrich provided misleading or incorrect information, (3) the Commission’s calculation of the fine, and ends with a number of (4) comments and lessons.
Keywords: antitrust, merger control, competition law
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