ZWeR 2016, 258
The EU Commission’s settlement practice
Since 2008, the settlement procedure of the EU Commission has been established as an additional possibility to terminate cartel proceedings that exists alongside the standard fine procedure. So far, the Commission has used this procedure to conclude twenty-one proceedings. With these decisions adopted under the settlement procedure, the Commission’s relatively new instrument to handle cartel cases has proven to have reached its efficiency-seeking goal. This article provides an overview of the underlying rules, summarizes the EU Commission’s practice between 2008 and now, and outlines the benefits and potential downsides of the procedure.
Contents
- I. Introduction
- 1. Overview of the Relevant Decisions
- 2. Standard and Hybrid Cases
- 3. Amount of Fines in Settlement Procedures
- II. The Modalities of the Settlement Procedure
- 1. General Provisions
- 2. Introduction of a Settlement Procedure/First Exploratory Steps
- 3. (Bilateral) Rounds of Settlement Discussions
- 4. Settlement Submissions
- 5. Statement of Objections and Reply
- 6. The Commission’s Decision and Rewards
- III. Evaluation and Prospects
- 1. Suitability of a Case for a Settlement
- 2. Efficiency Gains
- 3. Reduction of the Fine
- 4. Possibility of Legal Protection
- 5. Impact on Damages Claims
- IV. Summary
- *
- *)Dr. iur. The author is a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in Düsseldorf and belongs to the antitrust, competition and trade practice group. She wishes to thank Joanna Goyder, Arne Gayk and Annabelle Hamelin for their contributions to this paper.
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