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Sebastian Peyer, Jan 21, 2015
The Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union was finally adopted by the Parliament on April 17, 2014 and by the EU Council of Ministers on November 10, 2014. The Directive aims to safeguard the effective enforcement of EU competition law by harmonizing the framework for private damages actions across the Member States.
If one looks at the number of blogs posts and newsletters, the Directive has created great expectations as to the effect it will have on antitrust damages in the national courts. Consultants and lawyers expect a “significant increase” in antitrust litigation and antitrust practitioners celebrate the Directive as a “milestone” in the development of antitrust damages actions. But is it?