At the beginning of August, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on draft guidelines on abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant companies.
Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits dominant undertakings from engaging in abusive conduct, including conduct that excludes competitors from the market (predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing and refusal to supply).
The draft guidelines provide guidance on a number of key elements concerning abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings, including: the purpose of competition law enforcement and the concept of consumer welfare in EU law, including in relation to abusive exclusionary practices; the main principles applicable to assessing single and collective dominance; the application of general principles to determine if a dominant company’s conduct is likely to constitute an abuse and, in particular, the concepts of ‘competition on the merits’ and ‘exclusionary effects’; the evidence necessary to demonstrate that a conduct is capable of producing exclusionary effects.
Consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/d78 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)