1. According toThe Oxford English Dictionary(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2nd edn, 1991) vol II, 1035, “centralisation” means “the action of centralising or the fact of being centralised; gathering to a centre or the concentration of administrative power in the hands of a central authority, to which all inferior departments, local branches, etc. are directly responsible. Centre means the point round which a circle is described; the middle point of a circle or sphere, equally distant from all points on the circumference; a point towards which things tend, move or are attracted or a point from which things, influences, etc. emanate, proceed, or originate.” Centralisation and centre are used synonymously in this article, as are decentralisation and decentre (seeinfra, n 2).
2. According toThe Oxford English Dictionary(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 2nd edn, 1991), vol IV, 327, “decentralisation” means “the action or fact of decentralising; decentralised condition. In Politics: the weakening of the central authority and distribution of its functions among the branches or local administrative bodies. To decentralise means to undo the centralisation of; to distribute administrative powers, which have been concentrated in a single head or centre.”
3. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Arts 81 and 82 of the Treaty; [2003] OJ L1/1, 1–25. It has applied since 1 May 2004.
4. Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC [2004] OJ L145, 1–44. See also Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Investment Services and Regulated Markets, and amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC, Council Directive 93/6/EEC and European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/12/EC, 19 November 2002, COM (2002) 625 final, 2002/0269 (COD).
5. Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, First Regulation implementing articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, [1962] OJ 13, 204/62, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1216/1999 ([1999] OJ L148, 5).