On the 11th of June 2013, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive facilitating claims for damages in national courts by victims of infringements of EU competition law. Violations of infringements of EU competition law include anti-competitive agreements between competitors, such as a price-fixing cartel, and abuses by individual companies of their dominance in a market.
The Commission’s consultation on EU legislation for private antitrust (competition) litigation began with the publication of a Green Paper in 2005. This was followed by a White Paper in 2008.
The current proposal is designed to remove some of the practical difficulties which victims of anti-competitive behaviour face when they try to obtain fair compensation for the damage they have suffered.
The main objectives of the proposed Directive are:
- to optimise the interaction between the public and private enforcement of competition law; and
- to ensure that victims of infringements of the EU competition rules can obtain full compensation for the harm they have suffered.
Whether the proposal will ultimately be enacted and, if so, in what form remain open questions, given the level of debate on this issue.
The following update is relevant – EU Press Release.
Theodorou Law Firm is a Cyprus law firm with Cyprus lawyers and other legal experts on legal matters involving Cyprus law, EU law and international law. The above should be used as a source of general information only. It is not intended to give a definitive statement of the law.
Our firm routinely answers queries from clients on a wide range of competition law matters. If you have a competition law query or wish to receive further information, please contact us using [email protected]
