Commitments or prohibition? The EU antitrust dilemma. Bruegel Policy Brief 2014/01, 31 January 2014

The issue: Excluding cartels, most investigations into suspected infringements of European Union competition law are resolved with ‘commitment decisions’. The European Commission drops the case in exchange for a commitment from the company under investigation to implement measures to stop the presumed anti-competitive behaviour. Commitment decisions are considered speedier than formal sanctions (prohibition decisions) in restoring normal competitive market conditions. They have a cost, however: commitments are voluntary and are unlikely to be subject to judicial review. This reduces the European Commission’s incentive to build a robust case. Because commitment decisions do not establish any legal precedent, they provide for little guidance on the interpretation of the law. Policy challenge: The European Commission relies increasingly on commitment decisions. More transparency on the substance of allegations, and the establishment of a higher number of legal precedents, are however necessary. This applies in particular to cases that tackle antitrust issues in new areas, such as markets for digital goods, in which companies might find it difficult to assess if a certain behaviour constitutes a violation of competition rules. To ensure greater transparency and mitigate some of the drawbacks of commitment decisions, while retaining their main benefits, the full detail of the objections addressed by the European Commission to defendants should be published.

S. Res. 117 and S. Res. 124, prohibition of the Olympic Games in Beijing : hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, first session, July 15, 1993.

Shipping list no.: 95-0082-P.

The triall of bastardie : that part of the second part of Policie, or maner of gouernement of the realme of England : so termed spirituall, or ecclesiasticall. Annexed at the end of this treatise, touching the prohibition of marriage, A table of the leuitical, English, and politiue canon catalogues, their concordance and difference /

Signatures: Three stars⁴ A-O⁴.

Public cooperation in prohibition law enforcement.

Cover title: Public cooperation in law enforcement : business, civic and industrial groups aid in promoting better observance and enforcement of law : a factual outline.

An inquiry into the policy and justice of the prohibition of the use of grain in the distilleries ...

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Prohibition in North Carolina, 1715-1945.

Mode of access: Internet.

The prohibition movement in Alabama, 1702 to 1943,

Mode of access: Internet.