Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation) (Text with EEA relevance) Basic information Dates Date of document: Date of publication: Date of effect: February 18, 2004 Entry into force - Date pub. + 20 See Art 26.1 May 1, 2004 Application - See Art 26.1 Modified by Implemented by: All documents based on this document: Modifies Repeal: Affected by case Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 31 May 2018. Ernst & Young P/S v Konkurrencerådet. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Sø- og Handelsretten. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Control of concentrations of undertakings — Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 — Article 7(1) — Implementation of a concentration prior to notification to the European Commission and declaration of compatibility with the common market — Prohibition — Scope — Concept of ‘concentration’ — Termination of a cooperation agreement with a third party by one of the merging undertakings. Case C-633/16. Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 16 March 2023. Towercast v Autorité de la concurrence and Ministère de l’Économie. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d'appel de Paris. Reference for a preliminary ruling – Competition – Control of concentrations between undertakings – Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 – Article 21(1) – Exclusive application of that regulation to operations covered by the concept of ‘concentration’ – Scope – Concentration operation which has no Community dimension, is below the thresholds for mandatory ex ante control laid down in the law of a Member State and has not been referred to the European Commission – Control of such an operation by the competition authorities of that Member State in the light of Article 102 TFEU – Whether permissible. Case C-449/21. Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 7 September 2017. Austria Asphalt GmbH & Co OG v Bundeskartellanwalt. Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof. Reference for a preliminary ruling — Competition — Concentrations between undertakings — Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 — Article 3(1)(b) and (4) — Scope — Definition of ‘concentration’ — Change in the form of control of an existing undertaking which, previously exclusive, becomes joint — Creation of a joint venture performing on a lasting basis all the functions of an autonomous economic entity. Case C-248/16. Case C-248/16: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Gerichtshof (Austria) lodged on 2 May 2016 — Austria Asphalt GmbH & Co OG v Bundeskartellanwalt article 3 paragraph 4 article 3 paragraph 1 point (b) Case C-633/16: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Sø- og Handelsretten (Denmark) lodged on 7 December 2016 — Ernst & Young P/S v Konkurrencerådet Case C-344/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the tribunal de commerce de Paris (France) lodged on 2 June 2021 — AA, AA, née BB, Groupe AA SNC, SI, AM, RH, RT, OE, MD, CJ, MI, Brouard-Daude SCP, acting through Xavier Brouard in his capacity as insolvency administrator of Groupe AA SNC v Allianz Bank SA, Allianz France SA, successor in law to Métropole SA, Abitbol & Rousselet SCP, acting through Frédéric Abitbol in his capacity as insolvency administrator of Groupe AA SNC, BDR & Associés, acting through Xavier Brouard in his capacity as insolvency administrator of Groupe AA SNC, SELAFA MJA, acting through Jérôme Pierrel, insolvency co-administrator of AA, SELARL Axym, acting through Didier Courtoux, insolvency co-administrator of AA, Bibus SA, formerly Matinvest, Allianz I.A.R.D. SA, successor in law to Métropole SA article 3 paragraph 5 point (a) Case C-449/21: Request for a preliminary ruling from the Cour d’appel de Paris (France) lodged on 21 July 2021 — Towercast v Autorité de la concurrence, Ministère de l’Économie article 22 article 21 paragraph 1 article 1 Legal basis Treaty establishing the European Community (Nice consolidated version) Part Three: Community policies Title VI: Common rules on competition, taxation and approximation of laws Chapter 1: Rules on competition Section 1: Rules applying to undertakings Article 83 Article 87 - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) Article 87 - EEC Treaty Treaty establishing the European Community (Nice consolidated version) Part Six: General and Final Provisions Article 308 Article 235 - EC Treaty (Maastricht consolidated version) Article 235 - EEC Treaty EuroVoc Vocabulary Competition Shareholding Concentrations Competition Merger Merger control Concentrations between undertakings