Brussels, 27/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European commission approved its proposal aiming to radically reform the system enforced since 1962 for the application of provisions of the Treaty relating to agreements and abuses of dominant positions (Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, previously Articles 85 and 86). The proposed regulation does not concern mergers/integration nor State aid.
By presenting the proposal to the press, Commissioner Mario Monti underlined that it was a case of an important page in the history of European competition policy. In summary:
- The Commission renounces its "monopoly" in the authorisation of agreements. The national competition authorities and national judiciary will be able to directly apply the Treaty provisions in this field (in addition to what they can already do for dominant positions).
- The obligatory notification of agreements will be removed, by eliminating an ineffective and heavy administrative charge both for enterprises and for the Community services.
Prof. Monti outlined the main results wanted:
a) greater efficiency. Most of the agreements notified are not detrimental and though their examination mobilises most of the work done by the competent service. Freed from this task, these services will be able to concentrate their actions on the search for and pursuit of agreements that are truly damaging for the functioning of the common market and for the European economy, agreements which are obviously not notified. At the same time the Commission is proposing to reinforce its powers to investigate and inspect and that the fines may be increased;
b) a decentralisation without a denationalisation of competition policy. The direct participation of the national authorities in the management and implementation of this policy was not possible in 1962: in most Member States, these authorities did not even exist, and there did not exist a "culture of competition" enabling the national decision. Today the situation is completely different. However it is essential to guarantee the coherence of policies and decision. Many provisions are foreseen to this effect, notably including: a network of national competition authorities, the possibility for the Commission of intervening through "exemptions by category" and through guidelines, opinion as well as through the possibility of taking itself certain decision or to request certain dossier;
c) lighten the burden for enterprises, which a themselves responsible for assessing the illicit nature of their agreements, by providing Commission texts (exemption regulations base on categories, opinions, guidelines, jurisprudence, etc.), from the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice and so on.
The draft regulation obviously contains a large number of implementation provisions, which one raised - it seems - emotions in business circles: the possibility for the Commission to create in the future a "register of agreements", if the opportunity was to arise. The circles close to the Commission feel that they must not dramatise this provision, which could never be concretised. Secondly, the aim of the register would simply be to add an element to the range of information instruments the Commission has at its disposal to define its competition policy
Entry into force at start of 2003?
The new proposal follows the White Paper that the Commission had approved in April 1999 (under the responsibility, at the time, of Karl van Miert), which already announces broad guidelines for the reform and had caused a major debate in political, economic, trade union and scientific circles, The Commission had received reactions from the Member States (globally in favour of the direction of the reform), the EFTA countries, the competition authorities of certain accession candidate countries (Hungary, Czech Republic and Estonia) and a hundred odd bodies. All these contributions where taken into consideration, and when they brought to the fore fears and concerns (notably from enterprises, or lawyers over legal security), the Commission tried to take this into account.
The Council must deliberate on this draft, with qualified majority, after the European Parliament opinion. Circles close to the Commission believe that the process will be a long one (as it is necessary to plan in-depth debates both between the Fifteen as within the Parliament) and that the regulation could enter into force at the start of 2003.