ABSTRACT
The Commission investigated the Bayer Group and found its conduct to be in conflict with European Community (EC) competition law. The Art. 81 tries to define the difference between EC competition law and competition law of each Member State. With regard to the element of ‘object’, where the object of an agreement, a market analysis by the Commission in search of the effects of the agreement, practice or decision is not required by the European Court of Justice. Regulation 1/2003 renders Art. 81 EC as a whole directly applicable by National Competition Authorities and national courts of law, together with the Commission. Dominance of one undertaking prevents effective competition or has an appreciable effect on conditions under which that competition will develop. The European Union Treaty competition rules contains no specific provisions dealing with mergers within the Community, although it is widely recognised that merger control is an essential element of competition policy.
