1 / 8

Sector Inquiries: What for?

Sector Inquiries: What for?. Lorena Boix Alonso European Commission Cabinet of Commissioner Neelie Kroes. Sector inquiries:. What? When? How? What for? What lessons? What next?. What is a sector inquiry?. An enforcement instrument: Article 17 is part of Regulation 1/2003

hedya
Download Presentation

Sector Inquiries: What for?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sector Inquiries: What for? Lorena Boix Alonso European Commission Cabinet of Commissioner Neelie Kroes

  2. Sector inquiries: • What? • When? • How? • What for? • What lessons? • What next?

  3. What is a sector inquiry? • An enforcement instrument: • Article 17 is part of Regulation 1/2003 • Link between Article 17 and the enforcement of Articles 81 and 82 • Its proactive character is key since modernisation • Implications: • Not (only) an information gathering exercise. • The applicaiton of fairly broad powers of investigation is justified.

  4. When to launch a sector inquiry? • When it emerges that competition in a particular sector is not working effectively • Aware that other tools are avilable • Inquiries are useful when: • The problem is widespreasd and involves several economic actors • The opening of individual investigations is not sufficient • A fact-finding exercise could help clarifying the reasons • Complex sectors where competition problems at different levels interact • Collusion is not suspected

  5. How are sector inquiries undertaken? • Commission has all powers of investigation except the power to inspect non-business premises • Tools: requests for information, power to take statements, power of inspection by the Commission or NCA, periodic penalty payments and fines. • In practice: questionnaires

  6. Sector inquiries: what for? • Commission does not have the power to impose a wide range of remedies • 3 types of outcomes: • opening individual enforcement actions (81-82) • informing the Commission’s policy decisions to regulate or de-regulate • fostering proactive changes

  7. What lessons from recent practice? • Importance of public support and political momentum • Cooperation with other Commission services (DG MARKT, DG TREN) • Organisation

  8. Conclusion - What next? • Sector inquiries are a powerful tool but not every competition problem is to be solved using this instrument • What next?...

More Related