52The Commission did not, in the contested decision, rule on the compatibility of the concentration with the common market, but referred the examination of the concentration to the Spanish competition authorities who requested the referral on 12 July 2002. In accordance with point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 9(3) of Regulation No 4064/89, those authorities are responsible for examining the effects of the concentration with regard to their national competition law. The only obligations imposed by Regulation No 4064/89 on the Spanish competition authorities in that regard are, first, in accordance with Article 9(6), that they must adopt their decision within a period of not more than four months after the Commission's referral and, second, in accordance with Article 9(8), that they must take ‘only the measures strictly necessary to safeguard or restore effective competition on the market concerned’. However, since those obligations cannot determine precisely and with certainty the result of the examination of the merits carried out by the Spanish competition authorities, it must be held that the contested decision is not capable of directly affecting the competitive situation of the applicants, as only the final decision adopted by the Spanish competition authorities can have that effect.
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