Should companies that have been fi ned for EU antitrust infringements be allowed to recover such fines from their (former) directors or employees? On the basis of an analysis of the EU Treaty provisions, legislation and case law on antitrust fines, as well as of the economic nature of antitrust infringements and the economic rationale of fines on undertakings/companies, this paper argues that it would appear contrary to EU law to allow undertak...

Following various proposals in the academic literature, and in the light of the observed decrease in the number of leniency applications received by European competition authorities in the period 2015-2020, the German Monopolies Commission (Monopolkommission) proposed in 2022 to amend the Competition Damages Directive 2014/104/EU so as to immunize companies that have received immunity under the competition authorities’ leniency programmes from ...

Regulation 1/2003 brought about a radical change in the way in which the EU antitrust prohibitions contained in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU are enforced. The previous enforcement regime, under Regulation 17, which dated from 1962, was characterised by a centralised notification and authorisation system for Article 101(3) TFEU. Regulation 1/2003 abolished this system and replaced it by a system of ex post enforcement. The objectives of this refor...

This paper provides a systematic overview of the procedural rights and obligations of third parties in investigations and proceedings conducted by the European Commission for the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Third parties are all natural or legal persons, undertakings and associations of undertakings other than those under investigation. The paper examines the possibilities for third parties to inform the European Commi...

This paper deals with the publication by the European Commission of its decisions adopted in the enforcement of the competition rules laid down in Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (antitrust decisions). The paper examines the legal basis of such publication and the interests justifying publication; what content of the decision must be published, may be published and cannot be published; the procedure and timing of the publication; and the ...

This paper deals with the fundamental procedural rights of companies that are targeted in the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU by the European Commission or the competition authorities of the EU Member States. The paper first provides a (non-exhaustive) list of such rights as applicable to the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU by the European Commission, and explains the source of these fundamental rights in the EU l...

This paper discusses the law, policy and procedure of legal professional privilege in EU antitrust enforcement. It focuses primarily on the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU by the European Commission, but also touches briefly on the enforcement of EU antitrust law by the competition authorities of the EU Member States (addressing in particular the question whether those EU Member States that extend legal professional privileg...

At the end of 2018, the European Parliament and Council adopted Directive (EU) 2019/1, often referred to as the ‘ECN+ Directive’, which, among other things, contains provisions ensuring the independence of the competition authorities of the EU Member States (‘national competition authorities’ or ‘NCAs’), which are, together with the European Commission, responsible for the enforcement of the EU antitrust rules laid down in Articles...