*** ARIEL EZRACHI (Editor): Article 82 EC: Reflections on its Recent Evolution. Hart Publishing (16C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - fax: 510710 - email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). "Studies of the Oxford Institute of European and Comparative Law" series, No. 12. 2009, 201 pp.. ISBN 978-1-84113-250-1.
During the last decade, European competition law has undergone several major developments, which are being taken to task by a number of highly critical academics. Even, Article 82 - which became Article 102 in the treaty on the functioning of the European Union - which prevents and facilitates the combat against the abuse of dominant position, has not been spared from this exercise, which was initiated by the Commission. The latter promoted an approach in this connection, based on the economic effects of practices it would deem illegal or not. This gave grist to the mill for those in charge of the Law and Competition Policy Centre at the University of Oxford because although it is appropriate for the Commission to focus on activities that can actually undermine healthy competition and ultimately the end user, the real challenge is one of setting out exact criteria for tackling the real abuses of the system. The legal specialists consider that the actors in competition policy are actually in a period of transition, which requires new frontiers to be outlined in this domain, by way of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and robust scientific reflections. Taking up from the ten academic experts who met up at the Oxford University Centre, the objective of this book seeks to draw the initial lessons from the reform and to explore how it can be implemented in the future.
This book will be a delight to all legal experts and policy makers who, from a professional perspective, have to take into account developments in this branch of competition law. In the book they will find a wealth of seriously developed ideas, based on different aspects of difficulties arising in this area. It is pertinent to the new approach advocated by the Commission and examines the implications and difficulties that this approach creates. It looks at the position of the consumer in this perspective and draws the lessons from the Microsoft case, particularly with relationship between intellectual property and competition law, social corporate responsibility of dominant enterprises, the issue of excessive prices, which often leaves the Commission without a voice on the position of Europe compared to the US. These are some of the themes explored in a detailed way by lecturers in law and other high flying researchers and an obvious reason why this publication will help clarify subjects for those who are already steeped in this subject matter. …
Pierre Bouvier
*** INGEBORG SIMONSSON: Legitimacy in EU Cartel Control. Hart Publishing (see address attached). "Modern Studies in European Law" series, No. 20. 2010, 375 pp.. ISBN 978-1-84946-005-7.
Ingeborg Simonsson is both a professor at the University of Stockholm and a Swedish expert in European competition and intellectual property law. In this book he makes an intellectual pilgrimage in his quest to identify the legitimacy of Community competition law and, more precisely, the provisions in the treaty that facilitate the fight against cartels created between companies seeking to restrict competition in the single market. The author considers that the modernisation initiated by Commissioner Mario Monti and pursued by Nellie Kroes in an effort to effectively fight against the cartels has is origin in the dysfunction identified and which, linked to the limited human resources at the disposal of the Commission, manifests itself in the problem of legitimacy of action enacted in this arena. The solution was located in the move towards the decentralisation of competition law and its implementation. Members states and their courts were now to find themselves involved on an equal footing with the Commission and the European Court of Justice in this domain. Ingeborg Simonsson considers that the question of this law's legal legitimacy has not, however, been rectified, perhaps even the contrary: if decentralisation is to prove fruitful, further verification of the law based on the fight against cartels is necessary in order to provide a clear understanding and correct and uniform application in all member states. It is also necessary to verify the legitimacy of this law in light of corporate expectations. These are the different aspects of the notion of legitimacy in the fight against cartels, which are meticulously examined in this book. The publication provides both theoretical and practical approaches with regard to around 150 Union decisions in this area and frequently plunges into pertinent academic literature for its findings. Ingeborg Simonsson also gives the reader some detailed comparisons of European and American law and in so doing provides us with a remarkable reference book.
(PBo)
*** SANDRA MARCO COLINO: Vertical Agreements and Competition Law. A Comparative Study of the EU and US Regimes. Hart Publishing (see address attached). 2010, 199 p.. ISBN 978-1-84113-871-8.
Vertical agreements permitted under the exemption category regulation constitute a breach of competition law prevailing in Europe and contain an inherent ambiguity. Following the example of the author of this book (whose doctorate focused on this issue in 2007 at the European University Institute of Florence); legal experts seek to take this area of difficulty to task. Currently a senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Sandra Marco Colino provides additional clarification by comparing the rules in force in Europe and the US. Over the years, the Commission has withdrawn its misgivings about these categorical breaches and the new provisions on the matter, which are due to be introduced next month, should bear this out. The author analyses the economic aspects, which have often been used to justify these exemptions. This book provides a wealth of information, as well as incisive analysis but is obviously addressed to specialists and for whom this publication will prove indispensable …
(PBo)
*** JOSEPH A. MCCAHERY, LEVINUS TIMMERMAN, ERIK P.M. VERMEULEN (Editors): Private Company Law Reform. International and European Perspectives. T. M. C. Asser Press (Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK. Tel: (44-1223) 326050 - fax: 315052 - Internet: http://www.cambridge.org or http://www.asserpress.nl ). 2010, 369 pp., £60. ISBN 978-90-6704-251-2.
High flying academics from the four corners of the world contributed to this book, which constitutes the follow up of a conference at the Dutch ministry of justice in 2006. In this publication, they tackle the legal developments arising over the last thirty years, in addition to the many partnerships and other hybrid and flexible forms that have flourished. In the first part of the book, they provide a comprehensive exploration of these new structures in the US and in the second part, they look at how this phenomenon has been reproduced in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Particular attention is paid to Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. After analysing the impact of this greater flexibility in the US and the notion of limited responsibility, the final part of the book exclusively focuses on the statutes of the private European Company. The authors defend the fact that this entity has been established because the benefits that we can expect from it outweigh the costs.
(PBo)
*** PHILIPPE LAMBRECHT, CHARLES GHEUR (Editors): Les fédérations d'entreprises et les règles de concurrence - Federaties van ondernemingen en mededingingsregels. Editions Larcier (Groupe De Boeck, 39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-10) 482511 - fax: 482693 - Email: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). 2009, 181 pp., €55. ISBN 978-2-8044-3571-4.
This book includes contributions in French and Dutch and looks at the acts developed during a seminar a year ago by the Belgian Federation of Enterprise (FEB) in an effort to raise awareness among their members about appropriate application of competition law at their level. These bodies are in fact specialised entities where company leaders can hold discussions with each other, put forward their interests and exchange information. This is perfectly legitimate as long as they do not elaborate any restrictive practices or agreements between themselves. To ensure that this is the case, the Commission imposes strict rules on them. It is up to them to assess whether these practices comply with the rules. If it transpires that this is not the case, they can be fined (suspect companies, as well as the FEB) and compelled to pay damages with appropriate interest. In order to prevent these major risks occurring, Belgian legal specialists provide examples of what these companies can and cannot do in areas such as information exchange, drafting of general standards and contract models, group purchases and quality labels.
(MT)
*** FIN LAURSEN (Editors): The EU in the Global Political Economy. Editions Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes / Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). 2009,352 pp, €38.50. ISBN 978-90-5201-554-5.
This book is the result of the annual European Union Centre of Excellence held in May 2008 and tackles questions related to the Union's external relations. Given that the structure of these relations is divided into different pillars, these can appear confusing insofar as they sometimes have to marry own procedures with the European Community and the Common Foreign and Security Policy, particularly with regard to political sanctions decided on within the structure of the second pillar but which have to be applied by way of instruments that govern trade. This book chooses not cover foreign policy but focuses on the first pillar. The different authors seek to shed light on the contribution made by the Union as a global actor and assess the internal and external repercussions of action developed in this framework. The institutions and instruments used in global economic policy are therefore analysed, as well as the role of the European Monetary Union and the Euro in this context. In the second part of the book, the authors explore the economic policies that will be allowed under the Lisbon treaty and the subsequent capacity to conclude international agreements, particularly with the "Bric" countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) whose bilateral and multilateral relations with the Union are analysed. The penultimate section focuses on relations with developing countries, particularly in light of the Union's efforts to introduce administrative reform, as well as environmental cooperation with these countries and the limitations on the Union as a global actor in the Iranian affair.
(NDu)
*** AIKATERINI KAVALLARI: Agricultural Trade Policy Reforms and Trade Liberalisation in the Mediterranean Basin. A Partial Equilibrium Analysis of Regional Effects on the EU-27 and on the Mediterranean Partner Countries. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, Postfach 350, CH-2542 Pieterlen, Switzerland. Tel: (41-32) 3761717 - fax: 3761727 - Email: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.com ). "Schriften zur Internationalen Entwicklungsund Umweltforschung" series, No. 24. 2009, 236 pp, €46.50. ISBN 978-3-631-59203-8.
Since the stalling of Doha Round negotiations in 2006, attention is again focusing on increasing trade integration at regional level. The Union's initiative to create a free trade zone with Mediterranean partner countries is, in this context, of particular importance for European agriculture because these countries are in direct competition with Mediterranean member states for market share in the north of the Union. The latter see this liberalisation in a good light because they consider that it will give them better access to markets in North Africa and the Middle East for their products. Mediterranean countries in the Union, however, are for their own reasons opposed to it , while partner countries on the other side of the Mediterranean are afraid that at the same time as gaining market share in agriculture, the reduction on import taxes will lead to less money in their coffers and a flood of imported products onto their markets. It is generally thought that the Barcelona Agreement will benefit member states in the north of Europe, with effects on Mediterranean member states and partner countries that will be much more ambiguous. This study seeks to draw up a balance sheet of the current situation and the possible impact of agrarian reforms in the Mediterranean basin. The author has two other objectives; evaluation of the effects of the new policies and proposing other changes; presenting the results of reliable empirical research on the basis of which political decision makers involved in the discussions on the future of Mediterranean agriculture will be able to reach informed decisions. This book is quite technical and is addressed to specialists ra ther than the general reader.
(NDu)
*** HERVE GAYMARD, JEAN-CLAUDE FRUTEAU: Reconstruire une relation de confiance entre l'Union européenne et les pays ACP. Commission des Affaires européennes de l'Assemblée nationale (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 7 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40630033 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Documents d'information" series, No. 2133. 2009, 139 pp., €5. ISBN 978-2-11-128175-2.
This Information Report is a powerful critique of the sabotage of the “exemplary partnership” created by Community Europe and the ACP countries. The French MP Gaymard believes that this partnership has been sacrificed on the altar of an “unbridled liberal approach” that has led to a ghostly impasse in free trade. After having resumed some of the previous developments in this area, the authors urge the Union to propose economic and trade development agreements to the ACP countries, based on the “Lomé model”.
(MT)