Dear Jim,

A needle in a haystack question.  I did a quick Celex search and there was
nothing.

There is a list of all antitrust decisions 1964-1999, with OJ cites:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/competition/antitrust/closed/en/dec85.pdf.  There
is nothing for Mastercard.  So there was no formal decision relating to the
notification.

Next point is that all notifications do not get published in the OJ.  If an
agreement is notified and there is no problem with it, nothing else happens
except perhaps a comfort letter.

I did a search in RAPID as the only record in an antitrust case is often a
press release.  I found nothing for Mastercard except a mention in a press
release on the VISA decision:
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/0
0/1164|0|AGED&lg=EN&display=.  The press release did state that this was the
first case involving an international credit card.  It refers to the fact
that Visa and Mastercard are own by the same banks and referred to a 1996
plan by Visa that was apparently notified to the Commission and then
withdrawn.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/9
6/585|0|AGED&lg=EN&display=.

I also found that several cites to other cases (Mastercard was not the
primary party name)but the case numbers didn't match.  So, I'm at a dead end
on this one.

Perhaps the next step would be to contact the DG Competition Info Unit for
more details on the disposition of the case: [log in to unmask]

Barbara Sloan
Manager, Public Inquiries and Library
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M St, NW
Washington DC 20037
Tel. (202) 862-9542
Fax  (202) 429-1766
www.eurunion.org


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Murrell [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 4:18 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: OJ ref


Can anybody help me track down an OJ reference for an antitrust case IV
34.579 -  a notification by Mastercard to the European Commission in, I
believe, the 1970s or 1980s. I don't have any index or tool for the OJC
prior to 1990. many thanks Jim Murrell Senior Researcher S.J.Berwin 020 7533
2840


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