The European network of national competition authorities ruled on Monday 21 March that cooperation measures between European companies aimed at mitigating the effects of “severe disruptions” to the economy caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are “unlikely” to constitute a restriction of competition and will therefore not be sanctioned, as long as these measures are “strictly necessary and temporary”.
Among the cooperation measures identified is business-to-business cooperation that would ensure the equitable procurement, supply and distribution of scarce products and inputs or mitigate serious economic consequences, including those arising from compliance with EU sanctions.
The national authorities do inform that they will “not actively intervene” against such measures. Nevertheless, they stress that they will not hesitate to take action against companies that take advantage of this extraordinary situation to enter into agreements or abuse their dominant position, particularly in key markets such as “energy, food, and raw materials”.
See the press release by the network of national competition authorities: https://aeur.eu/f/v0 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)