Competition Law and Anti-trust: The Enforcement of Competition Law and the Unfair Commercial Practices in the EU and in Italy

Vocabulary flashcards covering the enforcement architecture of EU competition law, merger control, and Italy's unfair commercial practices regime.

Regulation 17/62/EEC

Specified the Commission powers, types of decisions, investigatory tools, framework for fines, and cooperation with member states.

TEC (Treaty of Rome) 1957

Treaty establishing the European Community; foundation for EU competition law and centralized enforcement.

Commission as primary enforcer

Under EU law, the Commission is the main enforcer of competition rules with centralized authority.

Article 101 TFEU

Prohibits anti competitive agreements, decisions, and concerted practices.

Article 102 TFEU

Prohibits abuse of a dominant position that may affect trade between member states.

Regulation 1/2003/EC

Major reform allowing direct application of EU competition rules by NCAs and national courts; abolished ex ante notification; enhanced cooperation.

Ex ante notification system

Pre notification to the Commission for potentially restrictive agreements; abolished by Regulation 1/2003.

ECN+ Directive (Directive 2019/1/EU)

Harmonizes procedural standards across NCAs and strengthens cooperation in decentralized EU enforcement.

Three pillars of EU competition law

Public enforcement by Commission and NCAs, merger review under EUMR, and private enforcement through damages actions.

SIEC test

Significant Impediment to Effective Competition test used in merger review to assess potential effects.

EUMR Regulation 139/2004/EC

Regulates merger review in the EU, one stop shop for community dimension concentrations.

Damages Directive 2014/104/EU

Harmonizes civil actions for damages for violations of Articles 101-102 TFEU in national courts.

Effect on trade concept

Jurisdictional criterion for applying Articles 101-102; requires that practices may affect trade between member states.

5 percent market share criterion

If aggregate market share is at or below 5 percent, the practice may not affect intra-community trade.

40 million euro turnover criterion

For horizontal agreements, if parties turnover in the Community falls below 40 million euro, there may be no appreciable effect.

European Competition Network ECN

Network of the Commission and NCAs for case allocation, coordination, and evidence exchange.

Public enforcement vs private enforcement

Public enforcement by authorities; private enforcement via actions for damages in national courts.

Soft law in EU competition

Non binding notices and guidelines guiding enforcement on topics like market definition and proceedings.

Extrateritorial enforcement cases Wood Pulp Lange and Sandage 1989

Illustrative cases where EU enforcement affected markets despite firms not operating inside EU.

Italian Law No. 287/1990

First major Italian competition law introducing rules on restrictive agreements, abuse of dominance, and mergers.

AGCM Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato

Italy's national competition authority responsible for enforcement including investigations and sanctions.

Presidential Decree No. 217/1998

Procedural provisions governing AGCM proceedings and parties rights of defense.

Law No. 241/1990

General framework for administrative procedures including access to documents in Italy.

Article 2598 Italian Civil Code

List of unfair practices that contrary to fair trading and harms competitors.

Decree 74/1992

Implemented Directive on misleading advertising in Italy and enforcement by AGCM.

Decrees 145/2007 and 146/2007

Transposed directives on misleading and comparative advertising into Italian law and consumer protection.

Unfair commercial practices

Practices contrary to professional diligence that distort or are likely to distort consumer decisions.

Misleading and comparative advertising rules

Rules prohibiting advertising that is misleading or harms competition; governs comparisons.

Omnibus Directive 2019/2161

Updates consumer protection rules for e-commerce; increases fines and enhances transparency for platforms.

AGCM ex officio powers

AGCM can investigate on its own accord, seize documents, and impose penalties for unfair practices.

Fines regime for unfair practices

Penalties can reach up to 5 million euros per practice, rising to 10 million and potentially 4 of turnover for EU dimension infringements.