In January 2011, the European Commission decided that the proposed merger between Aegean Airlines and Olympic Air should be prohibited because it would have resulted in a quasi-monopoly on the domestic Greek air transport market. This decision shows that traditional airline merger remedies, such as slot releases, are sometimes insufficient to allay concerns of monopolization. It also illustrates that the Commission will take a tough stance on competition policy, even when facing strong political pressure to clear the merger for the sake of the economy.
On 14 December 2010, the European Commission published its New Horizontal Guidelines, which provide more detailed information on the assessment of cooperation agreements between actual and potential competitors, in particular concerning information exchange and standardisation, as well as new Block Exemption Regulations on R&D and specialization agreements.
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