In his decision of 5 July 2002, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Technology argues that the significance of the restrictions on competition must be put into perspective in light of various recent developments. In a letter dated 23 August 2002, the Federal Minister gave the Monopolies Commission the opportunity to comment on this. The Monopolies Commission considers the Minister’s downplaying of the significance of the restrictions on competition to be problematic both legally and in substance, and reaffirms the opinion it delivered in May 2002.