In light of criticism in recent years of the European Community's competition law, Amsterdam lawyer Wesseling tries to clarify the current challenges to the policy by examining the origins of the competition law system. He begins by tracing the policy's development from the European Economic Community, established in 1958, and the European Union of today. Then he addresses the pertinent objectives, the institutional framework, the division of jurisdiction between the Community and the Member States, the decentralized enforcement of Community law, and other issues. His conclusions differ considerably from the Commission's recent white paper. Distributed in the US by ISBS. c. Book News Inc.

This book comprises a set of papers that were prepared for and delivered at the Global Competition Law Centre's Annual Conference "Modernisation and Enlargement: Two Major Challenges for EC Competition Law". The book presents an analysis of the new Regulation 1/2003 on the implementation of the competition rules laid down in Article 81 and 82 of the Treaty. This new Regulation represents a cultural revolution for EC competition lawyers, who were accustomed to notifying agreements in order to obtain some legal certainty for their clients. Modernisation opens up a brand new world where corporations and their lawyers will be asked to self-assess the validity of their agreements under EC competition law. The direct effect given to Article 81(3) will also stimulate implementation at the national level, including actions in national courts, although several procedural issues may impede private actions in courts. Amongc its other features, Regulation 1/2003 also creates a European Competition Network (ECN), which provides an institutional focus for cooperation between the NCAs and the Commission, as well as among the NCAs themselves. Enlargement of the European Union was one of the factors, which contributed to the adoption of Regulation 1/2003. Enlargement will expand the geographical scope of application of EC competition rules, but it will also create many important challenges. The NCAs of the new Member States are relatively new organisations, which in some cases lack the expertise and resources to pursue a credible enforcement agenda. These Member States are, however, willing to take on those challenges and, though a period of adaptation will be needed, there are no reasons why they should be unable to progressively develop a successful competition policy. Already, some agencies (e.g., in Hungary or Poland) have developed a credible enforcement record. This book is invaluable for all EU competition lawyers.

The materials of a 2000 debate on the proposals made by the European Commission for the reform and decentralisation of EC antitrust enforcement.

This text provides clear answers to the major questions concerning the modernization of EC antitrust enforcement such as: should a notification system be maintained, or should the antitrust rules be enforced exclusively through deterrence?; and at what levels should fines be set?

This book represents a fresh approach to EC competition law - one that is of singular value in grappling with the huge economic challenges we face today. As a critical analysis of the law and options available to European competition authorities and legal practitioners in the field, it stands without peer. It will be greatly welcomed by lawyers, policymakers and other interested professionals in Europe and throughout the world.

The idea of the Modernisation of European Competition Law had been launched by the Commission in late 2000 in a White Paper. The Commission proposed to decentralise the application of the EC competition rules: national authorities and judges would receive new competencies in this area. The modernisation process should dramatically change the scene. Current expectations are that there is a fair chance that the Commission's proposal will be adopted, with some amendments, by the Council before the end of 2002. Following the publication of the White Paper, the Leuven Centre for a Common Law of Europe decided to devote a conference to the subject of Modernisation of EC Competition Law in June 2001. At the time of the Conference, the modernisation idea had been followed by a draft Regulation implementing Articles 81 and 82 EC. This book contains the papers that were delivered at the conference. These papers examine the salient features of the proposed reform and discuss its consequences for European and national competition law and practice. Special emphasis is placed on private enforcement of EC antitrust rules. The editors added a general introduction, setting out the highlights of the modernisation debate, as it was conducted in Leuven. Therefore this book will help to understand this single most important reform of EC competition law since its conception. Contributions to this book are made by Thomas C. Arthur, Sir Christopher Bellamy, Ludo Cornelis, Wouter Devroe, Hans Gilliams, Luc Gyselen, Koen Lenaerts, Jules Stuyck, John Temple Lang, Marc van der Woude and Walter van Gerven.

This book, written by an academic-cum-practitioner with substantial experience in the field of antitrust enforcement, presents the rise of private enforcement of competition law in Europe, especially in the context of the recent modernisation and decentralisation of EC competition law enforcement. In particular, the study examines the role of courts in the application of the EC competition rules and views that role in the broader system of antitrust enforcement. The author starts from the premise of private enforcement's independence of public enforcement and after examining the new institutional position of national courts and their relationship with the Court of Justice, the Commission, and public enforcement in general, proceeds to deal with the detailed substantive and procedural law framework of private antitrust actions in Europe. The author describes the current post-decentralisation state of affairs but also refers to the latest proposals to enhance private antitrust enforcement in Europe both at the Community level, where reference is made to the December 2005 Commission Green Paper on Damages Actions and its aftermath, and at the national level, where reference is made to recent and forthcoming relevant initiatives.