Rebates and Article 102 TFEU: The European Commission's Duty to Apply the Guidance Paper
CPLD, Vol 2, Issue 1, March 2016, p4
12 Pages Posted: 27 Nov 2015 Last revised: 13 Feb 2020
Date Written: November 26, 2015
Abstract
This paper shows that the European Union (EU) courts' case-law and general principles of EU law place the European Commission (“Commission”) under a duty to apply the Guidance Communication on Enforcement Priorities (“Guidance Paper”) in abuse of dominance cases started after its adoption. This duty includes the obligation to test Article 102 TFEU cases under the As Efficient Competitor (“AEC”) framework, as set out in the 2009 Guidance Paper. The judgments handed down by the Union courts in Intel v Commission and Post Danmark II do not alter in any way the Commission’s “self binding” duty to apply the Guidance Paper. If the Commission wishes to depart from the AEC framework, it must officially withdraw its Guidance Paper.
Keywords: antitrust, competition, abuse of dominance, rebates, soft law, binding effects, as efficient test, pricing abuses
JEL Classification: K00, K20, K21, K40, K42, L40, L41
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation