What is the Ordoliberal view of competition?

Ordoliberalism is a German school of economic thought that advocates regulation of the free market economy based on a set of state-imposed rules guaranteed by the economic constitution, to impose a competitive order in society.

What are the aims of EU competition law?

They identify four major objectives of EU competition law, including economic freedom and plurality, as well as consumer welfare, economic efficiency, and consumer choice and fairness.

What are the core areas of EU competition law?

European competition law today derives mostly from articles 101 to 109 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as well as a series of Regulations and Directives. Four main policy areas include: Cartels, or control of collusion and other anti-competitive practices, under article 101 TFEU.

Who does competition law apply?

This mainly applies to businesses that have a large market share, usually 40 per cent or more. Other factors taken into consideration in determining whether a company is dominant include the number and size of competitors and customers and whether new businesses can easily set up in competition.

What are the two main areas of competition law?

These are of two types:

• Vertical combination: Vertical merging is combining of business firms engaged in different phases of the manufacture and distribution of a product into an interacting whole.
• Conglomerate combination: Conglomerate combinations involve firms or enterprises in unrelated business fields.

Does EU competition law still apply in the UK?

Since Brexit, under the terms of the UK-EU trade agreements, EU competition law is no longer enforced in the UK, and the UK and EU now operate completely separate competition regimes.

What is prohibited under competition law?

Competition law – an introduction The law aims to promote healthy competition. It bans anti- competitive agreements between firms such as agreements to fix prices or to carve up markets, and it makes it illegal for businesses to abuse a dominant market position.

Does Article 101 TFEU apply to UK?

After the Brexit transition period has ended, the general competition law provisions of Article 101 (prohibiting anti-competitive agreements) and Article 102 (prohibiting abuse of dominance) of the TFEU will cease to apply in the UK (although see the discussion of ongoing investigations below).

Who regulates competition law in the UK?

UK competition law regulates anti-competitive conduct, merger control and ensures markets are competitive. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the principle UK regulator tasked to ensure that markets are competitive and deliver the best deal possible for consumers.

What are the three pillars of the Competition Act?

The three areas of enforcement that are provided for in most competition laws are: (i) Anti-competitive agreements including Cartels (ii) Abuse of dominance, and (iii) Mergers which have potential for anti-competitive effect. The Competition Act was enacted in the year 2002 and it came into force on 13th January 2003.

Can a company refuse to sell to a competitor?

Guide to Antitrust Laws A firm’s refusal to deal with any other person or company is lawful so long as the refusal is not the product of an anticompetitive agreement with other firms or part of a predatory or exclusionary strategy to acquire or maintain a monopoly.

Does EU competition law still apply to UK?

Is the UK still bound by EU competition law?

b) EU competition law will cease to apply in the UK On 1 January 2021 (i.e. the end of the transition period provided by the Withdrawal Agreement) Articles 101 and 102 TFEU ceased to apply in the UK.