Hart Studies in Competition Law – serie

Public procurement and competition law are both important fields of EU law and policy, intimately intertwined in the creation of the internal market. Hitherto their close connection has been noted, but not closely examined. This work is the most comprehensive attempt to date to explain the many ways in which these fields, often considered independent of one another, interact and overlap in the creation of the internal market. This process of convergence between competition and public procurement law is particularly apparent in the 2014 Directives on public procurement, which consolidate the principle of competition in terms very close to those advanced by the author in the first edition. This second edition builds upon this approach and continues to ask how competition law principles inform and condition public procurement rules, and whether the latter (in their revised form) are adequate to ensure that competition is not distorted. The second edition also deepens the analysis of the market behaviour of the public buyer from a competition perspective.Proceeding through a careful assessment of the general rules of competition and public procurement, the book constantly tests the efficacy of these rules against a standard of the proper functioning of undistorted competition in the market for public procurement. It also traces the increasing relevance of competition considerations in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and sets out criteria and recommendations to continue influencing the development of EU Economic Law.

The objective of this book is twofold. First, it presents the economics of minority shareholdings, under both merger and antitrust law. In particular, economic analysis provides both an overall assessment of minority shareholdings in the context of concentrations, and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the examination of the link between non-controlling minority shareholdings, merger control and antitrust law. Second, the book also provides a legal assessment and an analysis of selected case law. According to settled European case law, minority shareholdings are analysed not only under Regulation 139/2004, but also under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Nevertheless, according to current enforcement practice at European and international levels, several national competition authorities have adopted different approaches. The million dollar question is whether the existing regulatory framework is sufficient to cover all possible cases.In summary, the book will be a useful tool for students, practitioners, researchers, economic and legal experts and competition authorities. It provides a comprehensive survey of the subject, which has been missing until now and answers many questions that have been raised in the literature in the last decades.

The objective of this book is twofold. First, it presents the economics of minority shareholdings, under both merger and antitrust law. In particular, economic analysis provides both an overall assessment of minority shareholdings in the context of concentrations, and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the examination of the link between non-controlling minority shareholdings, merger control and antitrust law. Second, the book also provides a legal assessment and an analysis of selected case law. According to settled European case law, minority shareholdings are analysed not only under Regulation 139/2004, but also under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Nevertheless, according to current enforcement practice at European and international levels, several national competition authorities have adopted different approaches. The million dollar question is whether the existing regulatory framework is sufficient to cover all possible cases.In summary, the book will be a useful tool for students, practitioners, researchers, economic and legal experts and competition authorities. It provides a comprehensive survey of the subject, which has been missing until now and answers many questions that have been raised in the literature in the last decades.

This book explores the tools that the European rules on State aid place in the hands of competitors when it comes to fighting subsidies and other state measures of financial assistance to firms. In order to do so, the book scrutinises the means of redress available to competitors before national courts (private enforcement), as well as the opportunities that they have to make their voice heard in the course of the European Commission''s enforcement procedures (public enforcement). The insights provided by the book lead to a better understanding of the rights of private parties under the rules and practices that govern the enforcement of State aid law.

This book explores the tools that the European rules on State aid place in the hands of competitors when it comes to fighting subsidies and other state measures of financial assistance to firms. In order to do so, the book scrutinises the means of redress available to competitors before national courts (private enforcement), as well as the opportunities that they have to make their voice heard in the course of the European Commission’s enforcement procedures (public enforcement). The insights provided by the book lead to a better understanding of the rights of private parties under the rules and practices that govern the enforcement of State aid law.

This book explores the tools that the European rules on State aid place in the hands of competitors when it comes to fighting subsidies and other state measures of financial assistance to firms. In order to do so, the book scrutinises the means of redress available to competitors before national courts (private enforcement), as well as the opportunities that they have to make their voice heard in the course of the European Commission''s enforcement procedures (public enforcement). The insights provided by the book lead to a better understanding of the rights of private parties under the rules and practices that govern the enforcement of State aid law.

In the early decades of European integration the enforcement of EU competition law was highly centralised. Virtually all enforcement actions under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU were initiated by the European Commission. More recently the enforcement of EU competition law has become less centralised - many would say even decentralised. In 2004, essentially in an effort to increase enforcement capacity in the wake of EU enlargement, the involvement of Member State competition authorities was significantly reinforced by national authorities being given power to pursue infringements of EU competition law largely on the basis of their domestic enforcement regimes. This combination of decentralisation and enforcement autonomy raises questions about the relationship between EU law and national law, as well as about the costs of enforcement. This new book links these questions by analysing how competences in the area of sanctions are distributed between EU and national law, and how this influences the costs of enforcement. The author's conclusions, which highlight the economic implications of the choices made by competition authorities, courts and legislators, will be of use to all the above in further developing EU competition policy. The PhD thesis on which this book is based was declared runner-up in the 2013 Concurrences Awards.

What drives popular support for state-enforced competition policy? What is it about antitrust law that garners approval from both the public and courts, to the point of demonizing large firms convicted of antitrust offenses? In this book Adi Ayal argues that the populist roots of antitrust are still with us, guiding sentiment towards a legal regime that has otherwise shifted towards economic analysis. Antitrust is very much about fairness and morality; this book assesses how modern policy has hijacked popular support - based on traditional conceptions of political and economic power - to combat market power in narrowly defined micro-markets. Beginning with history, but delving into moral and political philosophy, Professor Ayal shows how arguments concerning fairness in antitrust apply both to monopolists and their victims. Fairness thus requires a balancing test based on context and respecting the rights of all parties involved. While traditionally fairness arguments were used to justify intervention where economic analysis did not, this book assesses them from first principles, to show that pure efficiency analysis is flawed from a moral standpoint when the state intervenes. Protecting weak consumers from strong monopolists may carry rhetorical weight, but the reality of antitrust is that the state is much more powerful than almost all firms it regulates. Protecting the strong from the weak, especially when 'weak' consumers hold legal power and influence, might very well be a moral imperative. This book offers a philosophical account of the conundrum facing competition policy which challenges widely-held yet often implicit and unfounded beliefs.

"This book offers a well-argued and insightful critical assessment of the shortcomings of international trade and competition rules in tackling interventionist State measures in the context of an economic crisis. Dawar offers an evidence-rich account of the challenges that State protectionism creates for international trade liberalisation and for the protection of competition in international markets. Her insights will be particularly interesting in the context of current events leading to another surge of State economic interventionism, both for academics and for policy-makers with an interest in international trade."Dr Albert Sanchez-Graells, University of Bristol Law School"This book bursts the bubble of the self-congratulatory attitude that existing institutions, which were set up to discipline governments from a race to the bottom on economic policy, worked well after the financial crisis. These institutions may have prevented tariff wars, a big achievement compared to the time of the Great Depression. But they went along with the subsidies and state aid that governments put in place after 2007. Such flexibility on economic policy is essential in turbulent times. But these institutions are undermined if flexibility comes with a race to the bottom that shifts money away from policies for the more marginalized sections of society. At a time when the left behinds are changing the political landscape of the world, Kamala''s book debunks the myth of the success of existing institutions in containing the economic fallout of the global financial crisis. It gives a sobering warning of what might unfold when institutions deal with economic challenges by turning a blind eye to their own rules for checking unfair competition."Dr Swati Dhingra, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, London School of Economomics''An impressive contribution to our understanding of the financial crisis. Dawar''s reading of bailouts and buy national through the lens of competition law and government procurement law and policy is inspirational.''Professor Mary E Footer, University of Nottingham School of Law''The diplomatic fiction that during the crisis years regional and global trade rules ensured a level commercial playing field is skewered by Dawar''s trenchant legal analysis.''Professor Simon Evenett, University of St GallenThis book examines the international regulation of crises bailouts and buy national policies. It undertakes this research with specific reference to the crisis years 2008–2012. The book includes a comparative analysis of the regulation of public procurement and subsidies aid at both multilateral and regional levels, identifying the strengths and weakness in the WTO legal framework and selected regional trade agreements (RTAs). Ultimately, the aim of this work is to provide options for improving the consistency of these laws and the regulation of these markets. This is of immediate relevance for good economic governance, as well as for managing future systemic financial crises in the interests of citizens: as tax payers and consumers.

"This book offers a well-argued and insightful critical assessment of the shortcomings of international trade and competition rules in tackling interventionist State measures in the context of an economic crisis. Dawar offers an evidence-rich account of the challenges that State protectionism creates for international trade liberalisation and for the protection of competition in international markets. Her insights will be particularly interesting in the context of current events leading to another surge of State economic interventionism, both for academics and for policy-makers with an interest in international trade."Dr Albert Sanchez-Graells, University of Bristol Law School"This book bursts the bubble of the self-congratulatory attitude that existing institutions, which were set up to discipline governments from a race to the bottom on economic policy, worked well after the financial crisis. These institutions may have prevented tariff wars, a big achievement compared to the time of the Great Depression. But they went along with the subsidies and state aid that governments put in place after 2007. Such flexibility on economic policy is essential in turbulent times. But these institutions are undermined if flexibility comes with a race to the bottom that shifts money away from policies for the more marginalized sections of society. At a time when the left behinds are changing the political landscape of the world, Kamala''s book debunks the myth of the success of existing institutions in containing the economic fallout of the global financial crisis. It gives a sobering warning of what might unfold when institutions deal with economic challenges by turning a blind eye to their own rules for checking unfair competition."Dr Swati Dhingra, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, London School of Economomics''An impressive contribution to our understanding of the financial crisis. Dawar''s reading of bailouts and buy national through the lens of competition law and government procurement law and policy is inspirational.''Professor Mary E Footer, University of Nottingham School of Law''The diplomatic fiction that during the crisis years regional and global trade rules ensured a level commercial playing field is skewered by Dawar''s trenchant legal analysis.''Professor Simon Evenett, University of St GallenThis book examines the international regulation of crises bailouts and buy national policies. It undertakes this research with specific reference to the crisis years 2008–2012. The book includes a comparative analysis of the regulation of public procurement and subsidies aid at both multilateral and regional levels, identifying the strengths and weakness in the WTO legal framework and selected regional trade agreements (RTAs). Ultimately, the aim of this work is to provide options for improving the consistency of these laws and the regulation of these markets. This is of immediate relevance for good economic governance, as well as for managing future systemic financial crises in the interests of citizens: as tax payers and consumers.

"This book offers a well-argued and insightful critical assessment of the shortcomings of international trade and competition rules in tackling interventionist State measures in the context of an economic crisis. Dawar offers an evidence-rich account of the challenges that State protectionism creates for international trade liberalisation and for the protection of competition in international markets. Her insights will be particularly interesting in the context of current events leading to another surge of State economic interventionism, both for academics and for policy-makers with an interest in international trade."Dr Albert Sanchez-Graells, University of Bristol Law School"This book bursts the bubble of the self-congratulatory attitude that existing institutions, which were set up to discipline governments from a race to the bottom on economic policy, worked well after the financial crisis. These institutions may have prevented tariff wars, a big achievement compared to the time of the Great Depression. But they went along with the subsidies and state aid that governments put in place after 2007. Such flexibility on economic policy is essential in turbulent times. But these institutions are undermined if flexibility comes with a race to the bottom that shifts money away from policies for the more marginalized sections of society. At a time when the left behinds are changing the political landscape of the world, Kamala's book debunks the myth of the success of existing institutions in containing the economic fallout of the global financial crisis. It gives a sobering warning of what might unfold when institutions deal with economic challenges by turning a blind eye to their own rules for checking unfair competition."Dr Swati Dhingra, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Economics, London School of Economomics‘An impressive contribution to our understanding of the financial crisis. Dawar’s reading of bailouts and buy national through the lens of competition law and government procurement law and policy is inspirational.’Professor Mary E Footer, University of Nottingham School of Law‘The diplomatic fiction that during the crisis years regional and global trade rules ensured a level commercial playing field is skewered by Dawar's trenchant legal analysis.’Professor Simon Evenett, University of St GallenThis book examines the international regulation of crises bailouts and buy national policies. It undertakes this research with specific reference to the crisis years 2008–2012. The book includes a comparative analysis of the regulation of public procurement and subsidies aid at both multilateral and regional levels, identifying the strengths and weakness in the WTO legal framework and selected regional trade agreements (RTAs). Ultimately, the aim of this work is to provide options for improving the consistency of these laws and the regulation of these markets. This is of immediate relevance for good economic governance, as well as for managing future systemic financial crises in the interests of citizens: as tax payers and consumers.

In the late 1990s, the European Commission embarked on a long process of introducing a ''more economic approach'' to EU Antitrust law. One by one, it reviewed its approach to all three pillars of EU Antitrust Law, starting with Article 101 TFEU, moving on to EU merger control and concluding the process with Article 102 TFEU. Its aim was to make EU antitrust law more compatible with contemporary economic thinking.On the basis of an extensive empirical analysis of the Commission''s main enforcement tools, this book establishes the changes that the more economic approach has made to the Commission''s enforcement practice over the past fifteen years. It demonstrates that the more economic approach not only introduced modern economic assessment tools to the Commission''s analyses, but fundamentally changed the Commission''s interpretation of the law. Emulating one of the key credos of the US Antitrust Revolution thirty years earlier, the Commission reinterpreted the EU antitrust rules as aiming at the enhancement of economic consumer welfare only, and amended its understanding of key legal concepts accordingly. This book argues that the Commission''s new understanding of the law has many benefits. Its key principles are logical, translate well into workable legal concepts and promise a great degree of accuracy. However, it also has a number of serious drawbacks as it stands. Most worryingly, its revised interpretation of the law is to large extents incompatible with the case law of the European Court of Justice, which has not been swayed by the exclusive consumer welfare aim. This situation is undesirable from the point of view of legal certainty and the rule of law.

In the late 1990s, the European Commission embarked on a long process of introducing a ''more economic approach'' to EU Antitrust law. One by one, it reviewed its approach to all three pillars of EU Antitrust Law, starting with Article 101 TFEU, moving on to EU merger control and concluding the process with Article 102 TFEU. Its aim was to make EU antitrust law more compatible with contemporary economic thinking.On the basis of an extensive empirical analysis of the Commission''s main enforcement tools, this book establishes the changes that the more economic approach has made to the Commission''s enforcement practice over the past fifteen years. It demonstrates that the more economic approach not only introduced modern economic assessment tools to the Commission''s analyses, but fundamentally changed the Commission''s interpretation of the law. Emulating one of the key credos of the US Antitrust Revolution thirty years earlier, the Commission reinterpreted the EU antitrust rules as aiming at the enhancement of economic consumer welfare only, and amended its understanding of key legal concepts accordingly. This book argues that the Commission''s new understanding of the law has many benefits. Its key principles are logical, translate well into workable legal concepts and promise a great degree of accuracy. However, it also has a number of serious drawbacks as it stands. Most worryingly, its revised interpretation of the law is to large extents incompatible with the case law of the European Court of Justice, which has not been swayed by the exclusive consumer welfare aim. This situation is undesirable from the point of view of legal certainty and the rule of law.

This book explores the interface between competition law and market integration in the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), focusing on the notion of ‘market separation’-namely conduct that may hinder cross-border trade. The discussion reviews, among other things, the treatment of geographic price discrimination and exclusionary abuse, by which out-of-state competitors are affected. ‘Market separation’ cases are treated in the book as a case study for appraising the interface between competition and the Internal Market. On this basis, the book provides a comparative analysis of the Treaty requirements under Article 102 TFEU when applied in ‘market separation’ cases and the Treaty requirements under the free movement provisions. In addition, it utilises ‘market separation’ cases as a springboard for advancing an informed reformulation of the application of Article 102 TFEU when state action comes into play.All in all, the analysis presented in the book deconstructs the elements for establishing ‘market separation’ as an abuse of the dominant position. It shows that there is nothing that would justify a distinctive treatment of ‘market separation’ under Article 102 TFEU, other than a principled understanding of Internal Market law as a whole: whatever understanding one reaches about the proper shape of the Internal Market, interrogation of the proper application of competition law comes after that and thus should be informed by this understanding.

This book charts the emergence of experimentalist governance in the implementation of EU competition law as a response to uncertainty and the limits of hierarchical enforcement in an increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous economic environment. It contributes to ongoing debates about the current state of EU competition law and provides an innovative account of emergent enforcement trends and its future direction. It also argues that an experimentalist evolution of competition law and market regulation attenuates concerns about the competitive strictures of EU law on national economic and regulatory institutions. Through its focus on experimentalist governance, the book provides guidance on completing experimentalist infrastructures for market regulation, as well as on the role of courts in triggering and sustaining experimentalist solutions. As such, it offers a novel perspective on implementing competition law in the EU and beyond.

This book charts the emergence of experimentalist governance in the implementation of EU competition law as a response to uncertainty and the limits of hierarchical enforcement in an increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous economic environment. It contributes to ongoing debates about the current state of EU competition law and provides an innovative account of emergent enforcement trends and its future direction. It also argues that an experimentalist evolution of competition law and market regulation attenuates concerns about the competitive strictures of EU law on national economic and regulatory institutions. Through its focus on experimentalist governance, the book provides guidance on completing experimentalist infrastructures for market regulation, as well as on the role of courts in triggering and sustaining experimentalist solutions. As such, it offers a novel perspective on implementing competition law in the EU and beyond.

This book charts the emergence of experimentalist governance in the implementation of EU competition law as a response to uncertainty and the limits of hierarchical enforcement in an increasingly dynamic and heterogeneous economic environment. It contributes to ongoing debates about the current state of EU competition law and provides an innovative account of emergent enforcement trends and its future direction. It also argues that an experimentalist evolution of competition law and market regulation attenuates concerns about the competitive strictures of EU law on national economic and regulatory institutions.Through its focus on experimentalist governance, the book provides guidance on completing experimentalist infrastructures for market regulation, as well as on the role of courts in triggering and sustaining experimentalist solutions. As such, it offers a novel perspective on implementing competition law in the EU and beyond.

A Critical Account of Article 106(2) TFEU: Government Failure in Public Service Provision offers a sceptical perspective on how EU law applies to public services. Article 106(2) provides that other Treaty rules may be disapplied in order to sustain a Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI). The rhetorical presentation of Article 106(2) is as a strict exception. As a result, Article 106(2) is often presented as a threat to Europe''s public service tradition. This book challenges those shibboleths by using the concept of government failure. It is concerned with instances of government intervention that are unnecessary, generate avoidable inefficiencies, or that can be bettered so as to realise general interest goals more efficaciously. As an element of the government failure critique, a market feasibility test incorporating the concept of market failure is used to expose laxity in the review of general interests under Article 106(2). Complementing that, the process of disapplying other Treaty rules under Article 106(2) is shown to have evolved from being strict to being highly indulgent of SGEI providers, with a relatively recent but only partial correction post Altmark. Overall, the strict exception label for Article 106(2) does not hold. Moreover, it is contingent and presents no legitimate general interest related threat to the organisation and delivery of public services. A comprehensive re-orientation of Article 106(2) on issues of proof is required, as is greater reliance on market counterfactuals, and much more careful separation of objectives and means in SGEI operation and design. Through these measures, the toleration of government failure can be stemmed and Article 106(2)''s contingency reduced.

A Critical Account of Article 106(2) TFEU: Government Failure in Public Service Provision offers a sceptical perspective on how EU law applies to public services. Article 106(2) provides that other Treaty rules may be disapplied in order to sustain a Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI). The rhetorical presentation of Article 106(2) is as a strict exception. As a result, Article 106(2) is often presented as a threat to Europe''s public service tradition. This book challenges those shibboleths by using the concept of government failure. It is concerned with instances of government intervention that are unnecessary, generate avoidable inefficiencies, or that can be bettered so as to realise general interest goals more efficaciously. As an element of the government failure critique, a market feasibility test incorporating the concept of market failure is used to expose laxity in the review of general interests under Article 106(2). Complementing that, the process of disapplying other Treaty rules under Article 106(2) is shown to have evolved from being strict to being highly indulgent of SGEI providers, with a relatively recent but only partial correction post Altmark. Overall, the strict exception label for Article 106(2) does not hold. Moreover, it is contingent and presents no legitimate general interest related threat to the organisation and delivery of public services. A comprehensive re-orientation of Article 106(2) on issues of proof is required, as is greater reliance on market counterfactuals, and much more careful separation of objectives and means in SGEI operation and design. Through these measures, the toleration of government failure can be stemmed and Article 106(2)''s contingency reduced.

A Critical Account of Article 106(2) TFEU: Government Failure in Public Service Provision offers a sceptical perspective on how EU law applies to public services. Article 106(2) provides that other Treaty rules may be disapplied in order to sustain a Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI). The rhetorical presentation of Article 106(2) is as a strict exception. As a result, Article 106(2) is often presented as a threat to Europe’s public service tradition. This book challenges those shibboleths by using the concept of government failure. It is concerned with instances of government intervention that are unnecessary, generate avoidable inefficiencies, or that can be bettered so as to realise general interest goals more efficaciously. As an element of the government failure critique, a market feasibility test incorporating the concept of market failure is used to expose laxity in the review of general interests under Article 106(2). Complementing that, the process of disapplying other Treaty rules under Article 106(2) is shown to have evolved from being strict to being highly indulgent of SGEI providers, with a relatively recent but only partial correction post Altmark. Overall, the strict exception label for Article 106(2) does not hold. Moreover, it is contingent and presents no legitimate general interest related threat to the organisation and delivery of public services. A comprehensive re-orientation of Article 106(2) on issues of proof is required, as is greater reliance on market counterfactuals, and much more careful separation of objectives and means in SGEI operation and design. Through these measures, the toleration of government failure can be stemmed and Article 106(2)’s contingency reduced.

Competition and diversity in media and communications are fundamental to a healthy economy and democracy. In India and internationally there is no consensus on the exact manner and scope of interventions that are appropriate to protect competition and pluralism in media markets. Many emerging economies including India are seeking to adopt their own regulation in this area taking their lead from the UK. The issues have been brought into sharp focus in India in recent years. First, the enactment and implementation of modern - but sector neutral - competition law under the Competition Act 2002 has caused a step change in regulation towards an economics and effects-based approach. Second, in 2013 the India telecoms regulator launched controversial reform proposals to apply a media-specific approach to ownership regulation.As academics, lawyers, businesses, regulators and policy-makers in India cast a glance at the international experience, this book examines the legal, economic and policy issues relating to regulation of ownership and control of media markets. The focus of comparative assessment is on examples from the European Union, EU Member States and the US.

This book asks whether the current push to increase uniformity in substantive and procedural competition policy and enforcement in Europe, as well as in related institutional structures, is desirable. It focuses on European Union (EU) competition policy and enforcement (related to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the merger rules), the equivalent rules in the Member States, and the relationships between these different legal orders.Uniformity has many benefits; yet, the advantages of diversity are also legion, enabling more policy experimentation and innovation; and improving the ability to accommodate national preferences. Contrary to the overwhelming view of academics, practitioners and regulators in this area, the book argues that uniformity is insufficient and examines ways of achieving a better mix of uniformity and diversity (the EU’s motto is ‘United in Diversity’). To achieve this better mix, the book offers a new framework for European competition law: Co-ordinated Diversity. Finally, this book discusses whether Co-ordinated Diversity fits with the current legal order in the EU, as well as the EU constitutional settlement more generally, and suggests some ways that it might be made compatible with this order with relative ease.The book’s impact could be significant: changing the results in individual cases; the way cases are argued; and what information is relevant. More importantly, it builds the theoretical foundations for fundamentally altering the way in which the EU and the Member States’ competition authorities interact, allowing space for disagreement and uncertainty. The aim is to improve the effiiciency and effectiveness of competition policy-making and enforcement in Europe. It should also increase the legitimacy in this field (rebalancing towards the Member States). Co-ordinated Diversity provides a new way of seeing the EU that better blends difference, when this is demanded, with uniformity and its benefits, as necessary. A timely and ambitious work, this book will be read with interest by all practitioners and academics interested in EU competition law, as well as the related fields of political science and economics.

This book asks whether the current push to increase uniformity in substantive and procedural competition policy and enforcement in Europe, as well as in related institutional structures, is desirable. It focuses on European Union (EU) competition policy and enforcement (related to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the merger rules), the equivalent rules in the Member States, and the relationships between these different legal orders.Uniformity has many benefits; yet, the advantages of diversity are also legion, enabling more policy experimentation and innovation; and improving the ability to accommodate national preferences. Contrary to the overwhelming view of academics, practitioners and regulators in this area, the book argues that uniformity is insufficient and examines ways of achieving a better mix of uniformity and diversity (the EU''s motto is ''United in Diversity''). To achieve this better mix, the book offers a new framework for European competition law: Co-ordinated Diversity. Finally, this book discusses whether Co-ordinated Diversity fits with the current legal order in the EU, as well as the EU constitutional settlement more generally, and suggests some ways that it might be made compatible with this order with relative ease.The book''s impact could be significant: changing the results in individual cases; the way cases are argued; and what information is relevant. More importantly, it builds the theoretical foundations for fundamentally altering the way in which the EU and the Member States'' competition authorities interact, allowing space for disagreement and uncertainty. The aim is to improve the effiiciency and effectiveness of competition policy-making and enforcement in Europe. It should also increase the legitimacy in this field (rebalancing towards the Member States). Co-ordinated Diversity provides a new way of seeing the EU that better blends difference, when this is demanded, with uniformity and its benefits, as necessary. A timely and ambitious work, this book will be read with interest by all practitioners and academics interested in EU competition law, as well as the related fields of political science and economics.

This book asks whether the current push to increase uniformity in substantive and procedural competition policy and enforcement in Europe, as well as in related institutional structures, is desirable. It focuses on European Union (EU) competition policy and enforcement (related to Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and the merger rules), the equivalent rules in the Member States, and the relationships between these different legal orders.Uniformity has many benefits; yet, the advantages of diversity are also legion, enabling more policy experimentation and innovation; and improving the ability to accommodate national preferences. Contrary to the overwhelming view of academics, practitioners and regulators in this area, the book argues that uniformity is insufficient and examines ways of achieving a better mix of uniformity and diversity (the EU''s motto is ''United in Diversity''). To achieve this better mix, the book offers a new framework for European competition law: Co-ordinated Diversity. Finally, this book discusses whether Co-ordinated Diversity fits with the current legal order in the EU, as well as the EU constitutional settlement more generally, and suggests some ways that it might be made compatible with this order with relative ease.The book''s impact could be significant: changing the results in individual cases; the way cases are argued; and what information is relevant. More importantly, it builds the theoretical foundations for fundamentally altering the way in which the EU and the Member States'' competition authorities interact, allowing space for disagreement and uncertainty. The aim is to improve the effiiciency and effectiveness of competition policy-making and enforcement in Europe. It should also increase the legitimacy in this field (rebalancing towards the Member States). Co-ordinated Diversity provides a new way of seeing the EU that better blends difference, when this is demanded, with uniformity and its benefits, as necessary. A timely and ambitious work, this book will be read with interest by all practitioners and academics interested in EU competition law, as well as the related fields of political science and economics.

What rules or principles govern the assessment of evidence in EU competition enforcement? This book offers, for the first time, a comprehensive academic study on the topic. Its aim is twofold. Firstly, it produces a typology of evidence standards in competition proceedings at the EU level, thereby systemising the guidance that is currently dispersed in the case-law of the EU Courts. Secondly, it examines the applicable evidence rules and principles with a view to better understanding their role in EU competition enforcement. In so doing, the book illustrates that evidence standards are not mere technicalities and their significance should not be underestimated. Rigorous and engaging, this work provides a much-needed analysis of a key question of EU competition enforcement.

What rules or principles govern the assessment of evidence in EU competition enforcement? This book offers, for the first time, a comprehensive academic study on the topic. Its aim is twofold. Firstly, it produces a typology of evidence standards in competition proceedings at the EU level, thereby systemising the guidance that is currently dispersed in the case-law of the EU Courts. Secondly, it examines the applicable evidence rules and principles with a view to better understanding their role in EU competition enforcement. In so doing, the book illustrates that evidence standards are not mere technicalities and their significance should not be underestimated. Rigorous and engaging, this work provides a much-needed analysis of a key question of EU competition enforcement.

What rules or principles govern the assessment of evidence in EU competition enforcement? This book offers, for the first time, a comprehensive academic study on the topic. Its aim is twofold. Firstly, it produces a typology of evidence standards in competition proceedings at the EU level, thereby systemising the guidance that is currently dispersed in the case-law of the EU Courts. Secondly, it examines the applicable evidence rules and principles with a view to better understanding their role in EU competition enforcement. In so doing, the book illustrates that evidence standards are not mere technicalities and their significance should not be underestimated. Rigorous and engaging, this work provides a much-needed analysis of a key question of EU competition enforcement.

In the US and EU, legal analysis in competition cases is conducted on a case-by-case approach. This approach assesses each particular practice for both its legality and its welfare effects. While this analytic method has the merits of ‘getting the result right’ by, inter alia, reducing error costs in antitrust adjudication, it comes at a cost of certainty, predictability and clarity in the legal principles which govern antitrust law. This is a rule of law concern. This is the first book to explore this tension between Europe’s ‘More Economic Approach’, the US’s Rule of Reason, and the Rule of Law. The tension manifests itself in the assumptions in and choice of analytic method; the institutional agents driving this effects based approach and their competency to use and assess the results of the methodology they demand; and, the nature and stability of the legal principles used in modern effects-based competition analysis. The book forcefully argues that this approach to competition law represents a threat to the rule of law. Competition, Effects and Predictability will be of interest to European and American competition law scholars and practitioners, legal historians, policy makers and members of the judiciary.

In the US and EU, legal analysis in competition cases is conducted on a case-by-case approach. This approach assesses each particular practice for both its legality and its welfare effects. While this analytic method has the merits of ''getting the result right'' by, inter alia, reducing error costs in antitrust adjudication, it comes at a cost of certainty, predictability and clarity in the legal principles which govern antitrust law. This is a rule of law concern. This is the first book to explore this tension between Europe''s ''More Economic Approach'', the US''s Rule of Reason, and the Rule of Law. The tension manifests itself in the assumptions in and choice of analytic method; the institutional agents driving this effects based approach and their competency to use and assess the results of the methodology they demand; and, the nature and stability of the legal principles used in modern effects-based competition analysis. The book forcefully argues that this approach to competition law represents a threat to the rule of law. Competition, Effects and Predictability will be of interest to European and American competition law scholars and practitioners, legal historians, policy makers and members of the judiciary.