Facebook is reported to have asked EU antitrust regulators to examine its planned take-over of WhatsApp, in order to avoid the need to gain multiple, separate clearances across markets.

According to Reuters, the social networking giant is looking to sidestep the inconvenience of having to participate in multiple reviews in EU member states. The Financial Times said that Facebook was looking to avoid “surprises” later down the line, and to avoid the potential for numerous different debates and battles with national regulators across Europe.

Other sources suggested that the European Commission was not actually going to look at the deal in any depth until it was approached by Facebook – the deal will not give Facebook’s revenue a hike, and alternatives to WhatsApp are also freely available.

But Facebook was able to make the request because it was facing three or more national probes – Cyprus, Spain and UK were mooted, although it is not clear if there were actually active investigations in these market.

The Wall Street Journal cited legal experts who noted that the EC may take a more neutral line than national authorities, which would face lobbying efforts from numerous interested parties, involving operators who have had their businesses impacted by WhatsApp.

Last month, the US Federal Trade Commission notified Facebook and WhatsApp about their obligations to protect consumer privacy, including that post-merger WhatsApp must continue to honour prior promises made to consumers.

WhatsApp has more than 500 million active users worldwide, but its fastest growth is coming from markets beyond Europe – such as Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia.

Facebook is looking to acquire WhatsApp in a $19 billion deal, which was announced in February.