Competition Law of the European Union- Case Studies of Airline Mergers in the EU
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Huang, Shih-Yin
Abstract
The European Union (EU) is both a supranational and intergovernmental organization consisting of 28 Member States. Over the course of five decades, it has become more and more integrated economically, aiming to form an internal market that seeks to guarantee the free movements of goods, capital, service and labors between the EU member states. Against the backdrop of globalization today, the world has become borderless, in which cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become the norm. Being one of the major actors in international trade, the EU is by no means a stranger to this phenomenon. As mentioned above, the EU has created the internal market, and therefore the regulations must be made at the European level and observed by all the Member States to ensure faire competition among all the market players. After the entry into force of the Single European Act (SEA) in 1987, which set the objective of establishing a European Single Market by the end of 1992, the aviation industry underwent the process of liberalization. Under Single European Sky and EU-US Open Skies Agreement, the entry barrier of the airline industry has been removed. From then on, not only can flag carrier fly regular transatlantic flights, but also private sectors. The deregulation in European aviation market serves two purposes: preventing government interventions within the EU, and thus creating a dynamic and diverse investment environment. However, the deregulation has made the market more competitive. To make their business more profitable, many airline companies will seek a merger with their competitors. In view of this phenomenon, the competition law is needed to ensure the open competition. The thesis aims to analysis the origin and the development of the EU Competition law and its application to cross-border airlines merger cases.
Subjects
European Union
airline industry
open skies
competition law
merger
Type
thesis
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ntu-104-R01341011-1.pdf
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