Enforcement procedures

The responsibility for public enforcement of competition policy across the EU is shared by the European Commission and the national competition authorities of the member States. The system that has evolved for allocation of enforcement work between these two levels of authority is itself an interesting illustration of policy design and application within a multi-level system of governance. Overall, significant enforcement responsibility lies with the national authorities to the extent that this is deemed consistent with effective policy administration and the sound administration of the Single Market.

The EU established its European Competition Network (ECN) to facilitate cooperation among the responsible authorities and enhance the efficiency of policy application within the system of shared jurisdiction. Within the ECN, the Commission and member States' competition authorities share information and attempt to agree on the allocation of cases. Cases are to be dealt with by a single competition authority as often as possible. Where an agreement or practice substantially affects competition in more than one member State, the Network members seek to ensure that the case is assigned to the authority which is well placed to deal with it. If more than three Member States are substantially affected by an agreement or practice, the Commission will be particularly well placed to handle the case.²⁴³

In its 2009 Report on the functioning of the enforcement system after the first five years, the Commission noted that the challenge of boosting enforcement of the EU competition rules, and ensuring their consistent and coherent application, had been largely achieved. It indicated that enforcement of the EU competition rules had greatly increased since the entry into force of Council Regulation 1/2003. Between May 2004 and March 2009, more than 1,000 cases were pursued on the basis of the EU competition rules involving a wide variety of sectors. Discussions on case allocation arose in very few cases and was resolved swiftly .²⁴⁴

Nevertheless, the Commission maintains its authority to enforce relevant provisions of the Treaty directly, and is an important player in the overall system of competition law enforcement. In particular, the Commission may conduct investigations and take decisions either following a complaint or on its own initiative, when it suspects there may be a violation of the Treaty concerning competition policy.

The Commission may impose fines and/or periodic penalty payments. The Court of Justice reviews the Commission’s activities and may rule against the Commission’s decisions. Since 2009, the Court has ruled against the Commission's decisions in fines and in the rejection of the complaint in some cases. The Commission must, before taking a decision, consult the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, which is made up of representatives of Member States’ competition authorities.