The New EU AND UK Verticals Regimes: Improvements, Divergences, and Missed Opportunities?

Abstract

In 2022 both the EU and the UK overhauled their regimes governing vertical agreements following the expiry of Regulation 330/2010, which had block exempted many vertical agreements from Article 101(1) TFEU and the Chapter I prohibition set out in the Competition Act 1998 respectively. This paper examines the new EU and UK vertical systems. It emphasizes the core changes they have introduced, and considers whether they meet the objectives of the respective reform and review processes and whether, despite improvements, some opportunities for positive development of the regimes may have been missed. It notes that although post-Brexit there was scope for the UK to depart from the approach adopted in the EU, the path taken has essentially been one of consistency, albeit with divergences which reflect the different enforcement experiences of the EU and UK competition authorities.

Keywords: EU Competition Law, UK Competition Law, Vertical Agreements, online selling restraints

JEL Classification: K21, L40, L42