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EU Commission Launches Public Consultation on Draft Guidelines for Dominance Abuses

By  |  August 1, 2024

The European Commission has initiated a public consultation to gather feedback on EU draft guidelines concerning exclusionary abuses of market dominance. This development, announced on Thursday, is intended to solicit input from various stakeholders, including consumers, businesses, national competition authorities and courts.

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    According to Reuters, the new EU draft guidelines focus on several key anti-competitive practices, such as predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing and refusal to supply. These practices are prohibited under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which aims to prevent dominant companies from engaging in behavior that unfairly excludes competitors from the market.

    In its statement, the Commission highlighted that these guidelines are designed to increase legal certainty, benefiting consumers, businesses and judicial bodies alike. The guidelines aim to provide a clearer framework for understanding how the Commission interprets EU courts’ case law on exclusionary abuses and how it applies this in practice.

    Per Reuters, the Commission has accumulated significant experience in enforcing Article 102 TFEU, particularly concerning exclusionary abuses. Despite this, it remains the only area of European competition law without existing guidelines to clarify its application. The introduction of these draft guidelines marks a significant step towards rectifying this gap, ensuring that all businesses have a fair opportunity to compete and that consumers can enjoy the benefits of a competitive market.

    Source: Reuters