European Commission Decisions on Competition: Landmark Antitrust and Merger Cases from an Economic Point of View

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive economic classification and analysis of all European Commission decisions adopted pursuant to Articles 81, 82 and 86 EC Treaty, as well as landmark European merger cases. The decisions are organized according to the principal economic theory applied in the case. For each theory, the first decision in which that theory was relied upon by the Commission - provided, if appealed, it was upheld by the European Courts - is described according to a fixed template that is applied throughout the book. All related decisions, in which the same economic issue was central, are listed chronologically. The book is offered as a compendium to the leading IO textbooks and practitioner guides, to which detailed references are made. All cases are structured to be easily accessible for scholars of IO and the economics of competition policy, as well as practicing competition lawyers and officials. Of each landmark decision discussed in the book, a PDF file of the full text of the publication as it appeared in the Official Journal of the European Communities is included on a complementary CD-ROM. This book provides a unique analysis of the Commission's application and understanding of results from antitrust economics that have influenced European competition law enforcement. The introduction to the book, together with the breadth of the materials selected, present a complete historical overview of European competition policy.

Keywords: European Commission, antitrust, mergers, DG Competition, competition law

JEL Classification: L44, K21, A11, A33