Moreover, under Regulation 4064/89 which came into force in September 1990, concentrations
or mergers which have a ‘community dimension’ became the subject of
exclusive jurisdiction by the European Commission. Broadly speaking, this means that
mergers involving firms with a combined worldwide turnover of more than 5 billion
ECU (now Euro) are subject to Commission control, provided that the EU turnover of
each of at least two companies involved exceeds 250 million ECU and the companies
concerned do not have more than two-thirds of their EU turnover within one and the
same member state. Mergers which do not qualify under the regulation remain, of
course, subject to national competition law