The European Competition Network (ECN) consists of the 27 competition authorities within the European Union (see below for details) and the DG Competition of the European Commission.
The ECN has no new authority and has consequently no rights over its members. The ECN merely constitutes a mechanism for an optimal allocation of cases and sets rules for the exchange of information amongst themselves.
Regulation 1/2003 is the foundation for its creation and in Article 11 and 12 sets out the principles according to which the national competition authorities and the Commission can exchange information. According to Article 33 I b) 1/2003 the Commission is allowed to set out additional rules. The Commission did this by publishing the Notice on Cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities.
Many favour ever more uniformity in the interpretation and application of EU competition norms and the procedures to enforce them under this system. [1] However, when there are such differences in many Member States' policy preferences and given the benefits of experimentation, in 2020 one might ask whether more diversity (within limits) might not produce a more efficient, effective and legitimate competition regime. [2]
The following national competition authorities, together with the European Commission's DG Competition, make up the ECN:
In the European Union, competition law promotes the maintenance of competition within the European Single Market by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies to ensure that they do not create cartels and monopolies that would damage the interests of society.
Predatory pricing is a commercial pricing strategy which involves the use of large scale undercutting to eliminate competition. This is where an industry dominant firm with sizable market power will deliberately reduce the prices of a product or service to loss-making levels to attract all consumers and create a monopoly. For a period of time, the prices are set unrealistically low to ensure competitors are unable to effectively compete with the dominant firm without making substantial loss. The aim is to force existing or potential competitors within the industry to abandon the market so that the dominant firm may establish a stronger market position and create further barriers to entry. Once competition has been driven from the market, consumers are forced into a monopolistic market where the dominant firm can safely increase prices to recoup its losses.
Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust law, anti-monopoly law, and trade practices law; the act of pushing for antitrust measures or attacking monopolistic companies is commonly known as trust busting.
Andreas Schwab is a German politician and member of the European Parliament for Germany. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union, part of the European People's Party. Since 2009, he has been Of Counsel with CMS Hasche Sigle.
The European single market, also known as the European internal market or the European common market, is the single market comprising mainly the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). With certain exceptions, it also comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway and Switzerland. The single market seeks to guarantee the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people, known collectively as the "four freedoms". This is achieved through common rules and standards that all participating states are legally committed to follow.
The Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology is a Directorate-General of the European Commission and is responsible for EU investment in research, innovation and development of critical digital technologies.
A competition regulator is the institution that oversees the functioning of markets. It identifies and corrects practices causing market impediments and distortions through competition law. In general it is a government agency, typically a statutory authority, sometimes called an economic regulator, that regulates and enforces competition laws and may sometimes also enforce consumer protection laws. In addition to such agencies, there is often another body responsible for formulating competition policy.
The Directorate-General for Competition is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels. The DG Competition employs around 850 officials, as well as a number of seconded national officials, among other from national competition authorities. It is responsible for establishing and implementing competition policy for the European Union. DG Competition has a dual role in antitrust enforcement: an investigative role and a decision-making role. The current Director-General is Olivier Guersent.
The Autorité de la concurrence is France's national competition regulator. Its predecessor, the Competition Council, was established in the 1950s. The Competition Authority is an Independent administrative authority, responsible for preventing anti-competitive practices and monitoring the functioning of markets. It aims to ensure respect for the law linked "to the defense of a sufficient market competition".
European Union merger law is a part of the law of the European Union. It is charged with regulating mergers between two or more entities in a corporate structure. This institution has jurisdiction over concentrations that might or might not impede competition. Although mergers must comply with policies and regulations set by the commission; certain mergers are exempt if they promote consumer welfare. Mergers that fail to comply with the common market may be blocked. It is part of competition law and is designed to ensure that firms do not acquire such a degree of market power on the free market so as to harm the interests of consumers, the economy and society as a whole. Specifically, the level of control may lead to higher prices, less innovation and production.
Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is aimed at preventing businesses in an industry from abusing their positions by colluding to fix prices or taking action to prevent new businesses from gaining a foothold in the industry. Its core role is the regulation of monopolies, which restrict competition in private industry and produce worse outcomes for consumers and society. It is the second key provision, after Article 101, in European Union (EU) competition law.
Caselex is a unique legal information service opening up national case law and other important decisions with a European connotation to legal professions. As such it contributes to the Europeanisation of law. Relying on a network of editors throughout Europe, Caselex systematically summarizes in English case law and other decisions that have a cross border value to legal professionals. The service consists of the Caselex Market Definitions Module and several Case Law Modules.
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is the body in which the regulators of the telecommunications markets in the European Union work together. Other participants are the representatives of the European Commission, as well as telecommunication regulators from the member states of the EEA and of states that are in the process of joining the EU.
Market surveillance for products ensures that products on the market conform to applicable laws and regulations. This helps to foster trust among consumers buying products or financial services and protects consumers and professionals from harm from non-compliant products. It also helps companies that comply to stay in business and avoid losing market share to rogue traders.
EurObserv'ER is a consortium dedicated to the monitoring of the development of the various sectors of renewable energies in the European Union.
Institute of Competition Law is a think tank focused on bringing together government regulators, private practitioners, and academics to study and shape antitrust policy on an international scale.
Peter Whelan is a professor of law at the School of Law, University of Leeds. A qualified New York Attorney-at-Law, Whelan conducts research in competition (antitrust) law and criminal law. He published the first full-length monograph on the criminal enforcement of competition law with Oxford University Press.
The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority is the Competition regulator in Finland. It is the regulatory authority of Politics of Finland which works in the field of competition and consumer rights protection. The purpose of the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority is to create healthy and effective markets in which companies and other operators act responsibly and in keeping with consumers' interests.
Mergers in United Kingdom law is a theory-based regulation that helps forecast and avoid abuse, while indirectly maintaining a competitive framework within the market. A true merger is one in which two separate entities merge into an entirely new entity. In Law the term ‘merger’ has a much broader application, for example where A acquires all, or a majority of, the shares in B, and is able to control the affairs of B as such.