EU to reform law on abuse of dominant positions this year

[FaGal]

EU to reform law on abuse of dominant positions this year
www.iii.co.uk - March 11, 2005


BRUSSELS (AFX) - EU director general of competition Philip Lowe said he will start reforms of law concerning the abuse by companies of dominant market positions.

He said that by the end of this year the European Commission will issue draft guidelines on Article 82, addressing issues such as predatory pricing, bundling, refusal to deal and loyalty rebates.

This is to bring it more into line with mainstream economic thought, Lowe said.

He noted that the commission has already revised a law concerning cartels and restrictive agreements and said: "A similar exercise in respect of Article 82 is perhaps now overdue."

Lowe underscored the need for economic theories used by antitrust regulators to be in the mainstream of economic thought.

The commission started a reform process of its competition regulations in a bid to introduce more economic theory, but encountered criticism from some quarters.

Lowe was speaking at a conference of the International Bar Association and said the discussions highlighted that enforcement action "does not necessarily need more economic input, but rather the right economic input."

He said: "Antitrust agencies should not work at the cutting edge of economic theory, but should conduct their analysis within the mainstream of economic thought."