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Cani Fernandez, Apr 16, 2008
During the 1990s, the European Commission started to reform the competition system, gradually leading it towards a more economic approach. This resulted in the publication of guidelines on vertical restraints and the application of Article 81(3) of the EC Treaty, the entry into force of Regulation 1/2003, and the enactment of the new Merger Control Regulation in 2004. However, something was missing and both companies and practitioners insisted on the European Commission giving guidelines on how to interpret one of the most obscure provisions of the EC Treaty: the prohibition of abuses of dominant positions. Today, the debate on the interpretation of dominant abuses continues and will hopefully result in guidelines. An increasing number of companies are concerned about their (pre-) dominant market positions, and the absence of legal certainty jeopardizes the ability of European-based companies to carry out coherent and global commercial policies. The European Commission should not forget that a transparent and clear competition policy is necessary for these companies to compete strongly in a worldwide economy. Download the entire article available in the column on the left.
