Electrolux EU 0561 C Uživatelský manuál stáhnout pdf (Strana 13)

Vol. 1, N° 2, Summer 1994 EC COMPETITION POLICY NEWSLETTER PAGE 13

Summary of the most important recent developments

Anti-Trust Rules

Application of Articles 85 & 86 EEC and 65 ECSC

Main developments between 1st April and 28th July 1994

In May, the Commission adopted its 23rd Annual Report on

Competition Policy. This gives a comprehensive overview

of the application of Community Competition Policy in 1993

by the Commission, the European Courts, and the National

Competition authorities and Courts.

The report shows that the Commission is continuing to make

progress in dealing more quickly with its case-load and

reducing the total number of cases remaining open. On 1st

January 1994, there were 1,231 Article 85 and 86 cases

pending in DG IV, 300 less than 1st January 1993, despite

the fact that the number of new cases opened increased

slightly when compared to the previous year. The number

of cases closed (832) more than doubled the total number of

new cases opened. The deadlines for structural joint

ventures introduced at the beginning of last year are working

well, and in the 25 such cases notified last year the

companies were able to benefit from expeditions treatment

and a clear timetable according to which they could expect

the Commission's services to reach a conclusion on the case.

One of the most important sections of each Annual Report

is the first chapter, entitled "Main developments in

Competition Policy", which explains the themes that

underline the Commission's approach in practice. One of the

themes highlighted in this year's report is "The International

dimension of Competition Policy". This sets out the major

challenges facing the Community in adjusting its

Competition Policy to ever globalising markets not only in

terms of the substantive test that it applies to cases falling

within its jurisdiction, but also the measures that will need

to be adopted to prevent or limit the inconveniences of

multiple regulatory control given the ever increasing number

of national systems of competition law that are being

enacted, and to prevent conflict between the Commission and

these various authorities. In these areas the Community is

continuing to play a leading role, through the conclusion of

the EC-US agreement as a model for bilateral cooperation

agreements, which contained for the first time a positive

Community obligation, through the conclusion of the EEA

agreement, and through the Europe agreements with

countries of Eastern Europe. These measures are already

proving to be useful in practice. Whilst the successful joint

negotiations with the US Department of Justice with

Microsoft were not entirely the result of the EC-US

agreement, the accord did provide the framework and the

mutual confidence that enabled this ground-breaking joint

action to succeed. The result in this case will provide

valuable experience for the continued development of

collaboration between antitrust authorities both within and

outside the European Union.

The second international element that is becoming increasing

important is that of the interface between competition and

trade policy. The Community uses its competition Policy to

ensure that its markets are open and competitive. This

enables all companies free access to our market irrespective

of their country of incorporation. It is common ground that

private action can prevent market entry as effectively as

State imposed trade barriers, and it is becoming increasing

accepted that the equivalent of the next GATT round within

the context of the WTO will have competition policy as one

of its central elements. In the light of these important

challenges, the Commission is organising a conference in

Brussels, together with the Japanese Fair Trade Commission

(See below for further details of the conference), to consider

a number of subjects regarding the implementation of

competition Policy in practice.

Another point of particular interest in the Competition Report

can be found in the section "Improvement of Procedures".

Here the Commission signals the changes that it intends to

make to the rules that it has in the past applied on access to

file, and the role of the Hearing Officer (for a more detailed

analysis of this question, see the article of C.D. Ehlermann

in the first issue of the Newsletter). In the Annual Report,

the Commission announces an intention henceforth to adopt

the following procedure regarding access to file:

"With the Statement of Objections, the Commission will

send a copy of all the documents on which it is relying to

establish the existence of an infringement. It will also send

any documents that, on the basis of a careful examination of

the file, appear to go against or contradict the Commission's

case (known as "exculpatory" documents). If an undertaking

thereafter makes a reasoned request that the Commission

reexamine its file to determine whether it has any further

documents which concern a specified matter that the

undertaking considers useful to its defence, the Commission

will do so, and forward any such documents."

Regarding the changes in the Hearing Officer's

responsibilities, the Annual Report indicates that the

Commission intends to adopt the following changes to his or

her mandate:

"-Deadline

for reply to the Statement of Objections. An

undertaking may consider that the deadline imposed upon it

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