§ Mr. ButterfillTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the EC's revised rules for vetting joint ventures and the effects of a warning letter on ongoing joint venture discussions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe United Kingdom was consulted during the drawing up of the EC Commission's notice concerning the assessment of co-operative joint ventures under article 85 of the EC treaty. We welcome the Commission's commitment to improving its procedures and speeding up the handling of article 85 cases. It is too early to assess the effects of the new procedures, but we hope they will benefit companies by clarifying the criteria against which joint ventures will be assessed and offering earlier guidance on their compatibility with the EC competition rules.