Antitrust: Commission launches public consultation
Commission Block Exemption Regulation N° 2790/1999 ensures that
supply and distribution agreements that comply with its provisions
benefit from an exemption from the EC Treaty's ban on restrictive
business practices (Article 81(1). The current Block Exemption
Regulation on vertical restraints expires in May 2010. The Commission's
preliminary assessment of its application, based on experience and
feedback from stakeholders, found that the current rules have worked
well in practice.
Two major developments have marked the ten-year
period following the entry into force of the current rules: a further
increase in large distributors' market power and sales on the Internet.
To take account of these developments, the Commission
proposes that for a vertical agreement to benefit from the block
exemption, not only the supplier's market share (as is currently the
case) but also the buyer's market share should not exceed 30%.
Regarding
on-line sales, on the one hand there is a need to protect consumers'
possibilities to purchase to their advantage across borders, which is
greatly facilitated by the Internet. On the other hand, certain sales
restrictions that aim at limiting or preventing distributors from
taking unfair advantage of marketing and brand promotion undertaken by
others (i.e. free riding) may enable consumers to benefit from better
services. The Commission's suggested approach therefore refines, in the
on-line context, the distinction, between sales made as a result of
active marketing and sales made as a result of the consumer taking the
initiative (i.e. between active and passive sales), and explains how
the revised Regulation would deal with conditions imposed in relation
to internet sales, such as a requirement imposed by a supplier that the
distributor should have a "brick and mortar" shop before engaging in
online sales.
The Commission invites interested third parties to comment by 28th September 2009. The consultation covers all issues dealt with by the Regulation and the Guidelines, but the Commission seeks in particular comments on the overall functioning of the current rules, the extent to which recent market developments should impact on the Regulation and the Commission's suggested approach concerning buyers' market power and restrictions on on-line sales. The draft revised Block Exemption Regulation and Guidelines are available on the Europa website at:
