Recent trends in assessment of proposed consolidations in EU airline industry - From discretion to arbitrariness

EU airline deregulation in 2004 resulted in numerous merger proposals. The European Commission has a crucial role in deciding on mergers with a Community dimension. An overview of 21 merger proposals is followed by the assessment of the EC's attitude towards definition of relevant market and applied remedies. In this paper, we argue that the EC should apply EU competition law in a more consistent manner in order not to slip into arbitrariness.