Future-Mapping the Three Dimensions of EU Competition Law: Modernisation Now and After COVID-19

Abstract

EU competition law is traditionally understood in two-dimensions: judicial control and enforcement. This paper considers a third dimension: its normative concerns in the context of EU law. In mapping the future of these dimensions, the paper asks if the understanding behind the modernisation of the Commission’s enforcement is still tenable. In relation to judicial control, the effects-based approach of modernisation has either been incorporated by the case law at the cost of its coherence or ignored. Regarding enforcement, modernisation has resulted in the Commission having to step outside its guidance and in multiple proposals to adjust competition rules. As for the normative dimension, modernisation’s emphasis on consumer welfare has not prevented openness to broader concerns and setting this priority aside in reaction to COVID-19. The direction of modernisation will thus continue to raise judicial difficulties and, should it hamper enforcement, possibly lead to legislation that marginalises competition law. A better alternative would be, as was done for COVID-19, to reinforce the normative connection with the rest of EU law.

JEL Classification: K20, K21, L41, L50