Article 101(2) TFEU states that agreements and decisions by associations of undertakings that contravene Article 101(1) TFEU are null and void. However, it is silent on the fate of concerted practices. Strikingly, apart from a tangential reference in the odd Opinion of an Advocate General or one Order of the President of the General Court, there is – to the best of my knowledge – no case law addressing the question of nullity for concerted practices. I have always found it intriguing that so little has been written about this issue and that the case law of the EU Courts on the topic is so scarce.
One may wonder whether the Treaty’s silence on this issue is simply the result of an omiss [...]
To commemorate his first year in office as Competition Commissioner, Mr. Almunia and José openly discuss current and future competition policy issues.The full interview for World Competition is posted in Mr Almunia’s webpage http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/almunia/index_fr.htm
Amongst the varied topics covered in this interview the following are worth highlighting: Fines and Damages for Competition law infringements; the interplay between Competition law and IP; the enhancement of international cooperation; and enforcement as a guarantor of consumer welfare.
* Penalties: No reduction of the current level of EU fines should be expected. Moreover, the objective is to implement a more [...]
Adam Smith wrote in the Wealth of Nations that “two greyhounds, in running down the same hare, have sometimes the appearance of acting in some sort of concert. Each turns her towards his companion, or endeavours to intercept her when his companion turns her towards himself. This, however, is not the effect of any contract, but of the accidental concurrence of their passions in the same object at that particular time”.
With this example the great economist taught us that oftentimes appearances are misleading and it would be foolish to attempt to find a concurrence of wills where there is simply chance, survival instinct or adaptation to the prevailing circumstances.
A European national [...]
