Brussels, 16/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - In the framework of the general revision of the competition rules presently being studied (see EUROPE of 28 September 2000, p.7), the European Commission carried out a revision of the 1997 Notice concerning agreements of minor importance ("de minimis Notice"; Article 81, paragraph 1 of EC Treaty) with the adopting of a new draft. This new draft examines the new rules applicable to so-called vertical and horizontal agreements (respectively distribution agreements and agreements between companies carrying out their activities at the same level of the production or distribution chain), which where not taken into account in the 1997 Notice since they came later. It defines in particular the cases in which the agreements are not banned by the Treaty, thus reducing the burden inferred upon companies by the respect of the rules, in particular small enterprises. Easing the examination of minor cases does not restrain free competition, the Commission intends to dedicate more time to the more important cases. Below are the key elements of the draft in brief: - the ceilings for market shares are increased from 5% to 10% for the agreements between competitors and from 10% to 15% for agreements between non-competitors; the Commission feels that these new ceilings are more in-line with economic realities; - a ceiling for market share of 5% is foreseen in the situations with a cumulative effect. The companies that exercise activities in the sectors where there exist similar parallel agreements set out by several manufacturers or traders (for example in the beer and oil sector) may generally not benefit from the de minimis Notice. The draft institutes a 5% ceiling for the companies in question; - the list of hardcore restrictions (agreements containing hardcore restrictions such as price fixing and market sharing cannot benefit from the Notice); - agreements between small and medium-sized enterprises are in general de minimis (the draft specifies that this kind of agreement rarely affects trade between the Member States and escapes, as a result, in general from the implementation of Article 81 paragraph 1).
The draft Notice will be published in Official Journal, series C. It is presented in a detailed manner at the following Internet address: http: //wuropa.eu.int/comm/competition/antitrust/deminimis/. All the interested parties are invited to present, in writing, their comments on the draft before 1 August 2001.