The European Commission (EC) could be excused for not yet being swayed by any of the lengthy submissions so far submitted by those in favour of and against the maintenance of Regulation 4056/86. The contentious piece of legislation that permits conference carriers in Europe to fix common tariff rates, THCs and surcharges, as well as discuss supply and demand, is currently being reviewed by the EC. As a source within the organisation recently confided: 'We just appear to be going round in circles.' Interested parties were asked to submit their views on the legislation in September 2003, but according to a team of outside consultants employed to review all responses, 'the submissions hardly provided any new evidence or proof that compounds the already well-known arguments in favour of and against the [continuation of] block exemption for liner conferences'. It was this same lack of evidence that eventually devalued the last analysis of Regulation 4056/86 by the OECD in 2002.
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