EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS

Prague, Czechia

EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS 2022

4. Conclusion The proposed rules on vertical agreements are a step in the right direction, i.e., towards greater consideration of the economic efficiencies associated with certain types of vertical restraints. The new rules give businesses greater room for considerations of the specific needs of each sales channel – e.g., in terms of the level of investment and brand protection – and better organize their distribution networks. Nevertheless, the author of this paper identified several uncertainties or gaps that would need to be filled for the new EU distribution law regime to meet the objectives pursued, in particular, to be an effective tool for businesses themselves to assess the compliance of their conduct with competition law, preferably without huge costs and/or enforcement risks. Greater clarity of the rules would – in view of current risks of divergent approaches by national competition authorities and/ or national courts – help to achieve the goal of harmonizing competition law rules across the EU. References [1] Bostoen, F. (2017). Most Favoured Nation Clauses: Towards an Assessment Frame work under EU Competition Law. European Competition and Regulatory Law Review Vol 1 No 3, pp. 223–236. [2] Botteman, Y. and Barrio, D. (2019). From Pierre Fabre to Coty and Beyond: How Far Can Suppliers Ban Online Sales? Journal of European Competition Law & Practice , Vol 10, No 9, pp. 519–531. [3] Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, pp. 47–390. [4] German Competition Authority ( Bundeskartellamt ) (2018). Competition restraints in on line sales after Coty and Asics - what’s next? Series of papers on “Competition and Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy” [online]. [cit.2022-01-25]. Available at: https://www. bundeskartellamt.de/SharedDocs/Publikation/EN/Schriftenreihe_Digitales_IV.html [5] European Commission (2010a). Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices. OJ L 102, 23.4.2010, pp. 1–7. [6] European Commission, (2010b). Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. OJ C 130, 19.5.2010, pp. 1–46. [7] European Commission (2017). COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Report from the Commission to the Council and the Euro pean Parliament Final report on the E-commerce Sector Inquiry SWD/2017/0154 final . [8] EuropeanCommission (2020). COMMISSIONSTAFFWORKINGDOCUMENT EVALUATION of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation. SWD/2020/0172 final .

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