Politics and Antitrust/Competition Law in the EU and U.S.A.

Abstract

To what extent do political issues play a role of antitrust/competition law? We consider such interventions in the EU and the USA, eg. political parties, elections, other parts of administrations, member states and advocates of other policy goals. The European system is more opaque than its US counterpart and the public record is much richer about what goes in Washington than in Brussels or Luxembourg. The authors consider the similarities and differences between the two systems, how they have changed over time and whether they may change again.

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in the European Law Review following peer review. The definitive published version --- Jonathan Faull and Barry Hawk, Politics and Antitrust/Competition Law in the EU and U.S.A., 51 Eur. L. Rev. (Feb. 2025) --- is available online on Westlaw UK or from Thomson Reuters DocDel service.