The EU Policy Reform on Distribution Law: The European Commission Trying to Catch up with Market Developments

Abstract

On 9 July 2021, following a thorough evaluation and consultation process, the European Commission presented its long-awaited drafts of the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the VBER) and accompanying Guidelines on Vertical Restraints to replace the current regime, which expires on 31 May 2022. This paper analyses the most important amendments to the current EU distribution law framework. Whereas the most significant shortcomings of the current regime were identified in relation to the e-commerce sector and online platforms, this paper focuses particularly on these issues. An important element of liberalisation in the proposed regime is allowing dual pricing and minimum advertising price (MAP) policies to benefit from the safe harbour under certain conditions. In many aspects, the proposed framework reflects the previous case-law, e.g., in the field of price parity clauses, bans on the use of price comparison websites, or marketplace bans.

Keywords: Block exemption regulation, Distribution, EU law, Reform, Vertical restraints