COMPETITIVENESS COUNCIL : MEMBER STATES AMEND DIRECTIVE ON ACTIONS FOR DAMAGES.

The three-way talks on the future directive facilitating actions for damages for breaches of anti-trust law will not be easy. The Competitiveness Council adopted a general approach, on 2 December, but its discussions brought to light the misgivings of several member states. "This is a clear political signal that paves the way to negotiations with Parliament with a view to reaching an agreement at first reading," commented Lithuania's Economy Minister Evaldas Gustas, who chaired the meeting. This is a crucial stage in the process, added Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia. "I am now waiting for the European Parliament to conclude its committee work so that the two legislative institutions can agree on the final text by the end of this legislature."

The goal of the directive proposed by the European Commission on 11 June as part of the collective redress package is to address the obstacles keeping companies and citizens from obtaining compensation for damages of this type. Procedural difficulties, legal uncertainty stemming from complicated rules that differ from one state to the next and the cost of proving infringement weaken the possibility for European consumers and businesses (especially SMEs) to claim this right.

The compromise text endorses the dual legal basis suggested by the Commission, namely Articles 103 TFEU (for a competition subject) and 114 TFEU (which refers to co-decision on internal market subjects). Several ministers voiced disagreement, including Zoltan Csefalvay (Hungary), who argued that "only Article 103 should be kept because Article 114 gives Parliament powers it does not have". Poland, Germany, Denmark and Portugal share that reservation, as does the Council's legal service, which brandishes the risk of an appeal before the Court of Justice.

MORE FLEXIBILITY

Another point of contention concerns limits on the use of information obtained from the files of a national competition authority (Article 7). Some countries, eg Sweden and the Czech Republic, find the...

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