8. 12. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities L 336/1 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 14 May 1997 declaring a concentration to be compatible with the common market and the functioning of the EEA Agreement (Case No IV/M.856 — British Telecom/MCI (II)) (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (97/815/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 57 thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 of 21 December 1989 on the control of concentrations between undertakings(!), as amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 8 (2) thereof, Having regard to the Commission Decision of 30 January 1997 to initiate proceedings in this case, Having given the undertakings concerned the opportunity to make known their views on the concerns expressed by the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Concentrations (), (Yy OJ L 395, 30. 12, 1989, p. 1; corrected version, OJ L 257, 21. 9. 1990, p. 13. () O] C 372,9. 12. 1997. " (3) BT’s Whereas: (1) On 18 December 1996 the UK company British Telecommunications plc (‘BT’) and the MCI Communications Corporation (‘MCI’) notified their " intention to effect a full merger between the two companies. (2) After examination of the notification, the Commission has concluded that the notified operation falls within the scope of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89 (‘the Merger Regulation’). I. THE PARTIES principal activity is the supply of telecommunications services and equipment. Its main services and products are local and long-distance telephone «calls in the United Kingdom, the provision of telephone exchange lines to homes and businesses, international telephone calls made from and to the United Kingdom and the supply of telecommunications equipment for customers’ premises. BT also has a joint venture (called Springboard) with News International in the United Kingdom for Internet access and content and also has a United Kingdom marketing agreement with BSkyB. BT is also active internationally,