*** ANDREJ FATUR: EU Competition Law and the Information and Communication Technology Network Industries. Economic versus Legal Concepts in Pursuit of (Consumer) Welfare. Hart Publishing (16 C Worcester Place, Oxford, OX1 2JW, UK. Tel: (44-1865) 517530 - Fax: 510710 - email: mail@hartpub.co.uk - Internet: http://www.hartpub.co.uk ). 2012, 285 pp, £75. ISBN 978-1-84946-134-4.
To what extent do the models applied by the European Commission to ensure respect of healthy competition within the big border-free Single Market match the specific reality of companies active in information technology and communication? More particularly, to what extent do they serve consumer interests at the end of the day? These economically loaded questions (given the importance of the ICT industry to modern business and society in general) were considered by Andrej Fatur in a 2009 doctoral thesis for King's College London, which is followed up in this extremely useful extension to his thesis for anyone operating in this domain in any way, shape or form.
The importance of the subject is in direct correlation with the grand-sounding names involved: Microsoft since 2004, when the Commission fined the US giant an initial €497 million for abuse of a dominant position, a decision described by Prof. Richard Whish as 'one of the most controversial decisions ever to have been taken by a competition authority anywhere in the world'; followed by other major firms, not to mention Google today, all of them investigated over the same suspicions. Prof. Whish points out that the Microsoft decision also fuelled heated disagreements: 'One of the mantras that was repeatedly heard was that this case showed that the institutions in Europe protect competitors rather than the process of competition, and that interventions of this kind lead to a chilling effect on competition and a reduction in investment and innovation.' It was therefore a very sensible decision to scientifically verify whether the models used by the Commission to assess whether the behaviour of companies at the cutting edge of information technology and communications lead to decisions that are more negative than positive for end-consumers…
These dense pages - which review all aspects of competition law in connection with its application to the ITC industry - show that this segment of the economy stands out because of its technological complexity and rapidity of change, leading to a very specific type of competition within the industry. The author observes that the Commission has started to take account of these specificities, but more needs to be done, adding: 'The Commission would be well-advised to utilise its own economists more when assessing complaints from third parties of anti-competitive behaviour by firms in the ICT sector, or to use external experts, rather than relying on representations made by economists instructed by the complainants themselves.'
Pierre Bouvier
*** Guide de la Jurisprudence de la Cour de justice de l'Union européenne dans le domaine des télécommunications. Direction générale de la Société de l'information et médias de la Commission européenne (Office des publications. Internet: http.//bookshop.europa.eu/). 2010, 255 pp. ISBN 978-92-79-15242-9.
Although it is nearly three years old, this guide to European Court of Justice case law on telecoms issues (also available in English and German) is very useful because it gives a very practical description of Court of Justice case law on electronic communications, bringing together key passages from the rulings on 126 relevant cases up until the end of 2009 so that readers can learn the key points without having to read the rulings in their entirety. The regulatory framework comprises five directives: a framework-directive and directives on authorisation, access, universal service and privacy which together are aimed at reinforcing the Single Market, encouraging competition and protecting the interests of the public and telecoms users. Related questions like the golden shares in the privatisation of public bodies, abusive clauses in consumer contracts, copyright and promotion of linguistic diversity are also covered.
(MT)
*** ILSE SAMOY, MARCO B. M. LOOS (Eds.): Linked Contracts. Intersentia Publishing (31 Groenstraat, B-2640 Mortsel. Tel: (32-3) 6801550 - Fax: 6587121 - email: mail@intersentia.be - Internet: http://www.intersentia.be ). Ius Commune Europaeum series, No. 103. 2012, 163 pp, €46, £44, $64. ISBN 978-1-78068-084-2.
The fruit of cooperation between Dutch and Belgian universities, this book explores the legal consequences of the existence of linked contracts. It starts by putting this type of contract into perspective against the backdrop the Dutch legal system before reviewing various types of linked contracts: those connecting up a sales contract with a credit contract, cartel agreements combining a framework contract with subsequent contracts to execute the framework contract, contracts signed for the building of a house and a chain of sales contracts between a producer and consumer or end-user, with Mathias Hostens of Leuven University in Belgium asking whether one is moving towards a European system of direct producers' liability. One author examines the provisions on linked contracts in the Draft Common Frame of Reference, the Consumer Rights Directive and the Draft Optional Instrument. Summing up, Rodrigo Momberg Uribe of Chile's Southern University and Utrecht University in the Netherlands sketches out a possible general regulation for linked contracts.
(PBo)
*** LILLIAN WYLIE, PASCALINE WINAND (Eds.): Energy and the Environmental Challenge. Lessons from the European Union and Australia. 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 ). European Policy series, No. 48. 2011, 415 pp, €43-50. ISBN 978-90-5201-765-5.
This academic tome follows on from a conference where experts took a multidisciplinary approach to the challenges facing the world on the energy, climate change and environmental front. The first section looks at various aspects of climate change, sustainability and energy policies in the European Union and Australia. Professor of Energy Geopolitics at the 'Université Libre de Bruxelles' and advisor to the European Commission, Samuele Furfari explains that the fact that the EU does not yet have a Single Energy Policy is due to the huge importance invested to this issue by the Member States, Marc Pallemaerts having started by pointing out how energy and environment policies developed in the EU. Other authors examine the private enforcement of environmental law in the EU, energy efficiency and the interactions of business and NGOs in securing sustainable energy supplies in Europe. Alfonso Martinez Arranz develops a 'holistic approach' to this, while Karen Hussey and Albert Schram underscore the need for better policy integration and coordination for good management of the links between climate, energy, water and food in Europe. The second part of the book looks to the East, with economist Vladimir Zuev of Moscow State University explaining that energy is 'a key to new EU-Russian relations' and Joana Chiavari calling for the building of long-term relationships with the Black Sea region. Two other essays examine gas supplies in Siberia and Turkmenistan, while the third section is concluded by Rowena Cantley-Smith, who says: 'Promoting and supporting the development and implementation of a broad portfolio of mitigation and adaptation measures is the more salient approach to be pursued.
(MT)
*** 150 ans de présence dans le monde: l'énergie partagée. GDF Suez. Editions PC (35 quai André Citroën, F-75015 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 42736060 - Fax: 42736070 - email: editionspc-livres@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http://www.editionspc.com ). 2011, 117 pp.
This well laid-out promotional publication, with excellent illustrations, drawn up by people working for the 'Association pour la Valorisation des Archives des Entreprises' in France, explores the history of a French company, GDP Suez, an energy giant that is now one of the biggest multinationals in Europe.
(MT)