The Communication sector is covered by a comprehensive system of sector specific regulations and general competition law, with significant elements of overlaps. In general, the two sets of regulations are considered to be complementary. However, in any legal system there is an inherent tension between two different, but nevertheless similar, systems of regulation to which a further dimension is perhaps added by the interplay between national and Community powers. Further, with the adoption of the current Framework it's established that ex ante regulation should complement competition law and be applied only where it is established that ex post competition law is insufficient. The regulatory framework does not, however, give guidance to the National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) on how to decide when regulatory intervention should be preferred to competition law. This appears to be left to the NRA to solve, in consultation with the National Competition Authority (NCA) in each Member State. This paper offers some thought to the dubious relationship between sector regulation and general competition law, without seeking to exhaust the discussion.

To what extent should competition agencies act as market regulators? Competition Law as Regulation provides numerous insights from competition scholars on new trends at the interface of competition law and sector-specific regulation. By relying on the experiences of a considerable number of different jurisdictions, and applying a comparative approach to the topic, this book constitutes an important addition to international research on the interface of competition and regulation. It addresses the fundamental issues of the subject, and contributes to legal theory and practice. Topics discussed include foundations of the complex relationship of competition law and regulation, new forms of advocacy powers of competition agencies, competition law enforcement in regulated industries in general, information and telecommunications markets, and competition law as regulation in IP-related markets. Scholars in the two fields of law and economics will find the research aspects of the book to be of interest. Officials in competition and regulatory agencies will benefit from the practical relevance of the book.

This insightful book discusses the interaction of sector-specific regulation and competition policy. In particular, it identifies emerging trends and reflects on the nature of network regulation in the energy and telecom industries.

This book brings satisfying definition and clarity to this field at last. Exploring the substantive differences between competition law and sector-specific regulation after the methodological integration, it presents the first detailed analysis of the many hundreds of notifications and Commission letters generated under the Article 7 procedure, identifying the most relevant cases dealing with market definition, market power, and remedies. It compares these decisions with relevant competition law cases and highlights elements with a bearing on sector-specific regulation. It also offers hugely valuable guidance through the vast amount of documents in the Commission’s CIRCA database. Topics and issues raised include the following: definition of product markets; delineation of geographic markets (including sub-national); different practices in relation to assessing single market power and collective market power; and competition problems such as refusal to deal, margin squeeze, non-price discrimination, and excessive pricing. There can be little doubt that this is the new reference point for researchers and practitioners in this domain. By systematically categorizing the concepts and legal criteria and building a solid theoretical framework on the intersection of competition law and sector-specific regulation, the author has created a resource that is sure to be welcomed by all those involved in regulation of electronic communications markets and network industries in general: academic scholars, telecommunications regulators at the EU and Member State levels, competition authorities, law firms specializing in IT/communications law, practitioners in IT and telecommunications companies, and consultants in the sector. The book will also prove very useful for scholars and practitioners in other parts of the world interested in comparing the EU system with their own.

A nuanced assessment of the relationship between competition law and economic regulation, focusing on substantive and policy-oriented concerns.

The aim of this research is to provide the basic parameters for a model for the definition of the relation between the general competition and sector specific frameworks and rules regarding the regulation of the Internal Energy Market, especially after the Third Energy Package. The research considers the recent sector specific framework in relation to a series of recent competition law cases of the Energy Market where structural remedies were applied under the commitments procedure. Essential facilities doctrine and generally competition law tools do not seem to provide a suitable framework for effectively addressing the dynamic competition concept, treating the issue of balancing incentives to invest with open market concept and designing solutions for the stable development of Energy Market infrastructure. Competition law provides ex post and case-by-case solutions, which lack the breadth of objectives expressed by sector regulation. On the other hand, sector regulation seems to incorporate competition rules and objectives, while the application of competition law in recent decisions did not seem to take into consideration present and forthcoming sector-specific context and parameters. However, competition law has a hierarchical priority over sector-specific rules and its direct application cannot be excluded when sector regulation is insufficient or is not applied efficiently. Sector rules should have a functional priority regarding their implementation as lex specialis and constitute the context for any potential application of competition law. Furthermore, structural interventions based on competition rules will abide by the principle of proportionality, only in specific cases where market organisation and poor regulatory supervision allow the continuation of high vertical integration and anticompetitive practices. There is also a need to establish an efficient model of clear allocation of duties between Competition Authorities and Sector Regulators. The model proposed by the research emphasizes prioritization of sector-specific rules, use of competition rules as an interpretative tool, limitation of their independent application to cases where sector regulation fails and even then after taking into consideration sector specific context and acceptance of dynamic competition as an orientating framework for the regulation of the Internal Energy Market.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the interaction between Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) and EU competition law, covering in particular Article 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and state aid rules. It also takes the telecommunications, postal service and transport sectors as case studies, taking into account the technological, economic and political backgrounds to these sectors. The area of SGEI has undergone fundamental developments over the past three decades and the most recent changes in the Lisbon Treaty, recognizing SGEI as a shared value and granting explicit competence to the EU, mark its constitutional significance. The key issue is how to balance economic values underlying competitive markets and non-economic public service values such as universal access to essential services. The essence of the question is the relationship between the market and the state. This controversial issue is addressed through a critical analysis of a number of landmark EU Court judgments and Commission decisions over the decades. Offering a clear appreciation of the evolution of the EU regulatory framework on SGEI that lays out the limits and boundaries within which the Member States define, organize and fund SGEI, the book is particularly aimed at academics with a research interest in the interaction between public services and EU competition law, but as it also demonstrates clearly how the application of EU competition law has transformed the public utilities sectors, it will be of interest to law makers, legal professionals and policy makers as well. Dr. Lei Zhu is a Research Associate at the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China. He studied at the Institute for Competition & Procurement Studies of the Bangor University Law School in Wales, United Kingdom, where he obtained his PhD in law in 2015.