The merger brings concern over competition which is the focus of the impending investigation, much to the dismay of competitors hoping to have a review on privacy implications as well.

A statement was put out by Google in which CEO Eric E. Schmidt said “We are obviously disappointed. We seek to avoid further delays that might put us at a disadvantage in competing fully against Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others whose acquisitions in the highly competitive online advertising market have already been approved.”

Many executives have seen this as a positive move on the EU’s part, claiming that with about 70%-80% control over the paid search ad market and the addition of DoubleClick would put Google at the front of the geographical ad placement market as well.

While the FTC has also yet to come to a decision on the deal, regulators in both Brazil and Australia have approved the deal. The EU put out a statement yesterday that said its findings from the first round of the investigation “indicated that the proposed merger would raise competition concerns in the markets for intermediation and ad serving in online advertising.”

The decision will be made by April 2, 2008, so it is still premature for competitors to throw victory parties. This is a year after the first announcements concerning the acquisition.