Brussels, 26/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - There is no need to wait for the effect of abuse of a dominant position to be felt to find against a company, European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has noted. Speaking at Fordham University in New York, the Commissioner pointed out that it was enough to establish the likelihood that a company's conduct may be harmful to consumers to bring a case under Article 82 of the Treaty. According to Dr Wolfgang Deselaers, an anti-trust specialist with Linklaters, this is nothing new. He says that the Commission has tended over the last five years towards a policy which concentrates on the likelihood of harmful effects resulting from the conduct of a company in a dominant position. Previously, even the possibility of such an effect would have been enough to provoke a response from the Commission. Currently, as the Commissioner noted, such an allegation has to be backed up by a more in-depth investigation of the probable cause (the company's conduct) and effect (disadvantage for competition and customers). However, we have not yet reached the point where concrete proof is required linking specific conduct to a precise harmful effect. Companies accused of abusing their dominant positions cannot claim, in their defence, that there is no tangible proof, as Intel attempted to do. (C.D./transl.rt)