Commission competence

Commission competence

Therefore, in cases falling under Articles 101 of the TFEU and 53 of the EEA Agreement, the Commission will be competent for the case and take a decision for the whole of the EEA territory.

More about Commission competence

Where there is only affectation of trade between the EU and one or more EFTA States (and no appreciable affectation of trade between Member States), the competence will depend on the percentage of the combined EEA-wide turnover achieved by the companies concerned in the Community and in the EFTA territory respectively. If they achieve 33% or more of it in the EFTA territory, ESA will be competent. If they achieve 67% or more of it in the EU, it will be the Commission (for the definition of relevant turnover cf. Protocol 22 to the EEA Agreement).

More about the Subject

In abuse of dominance cases (Article 54 of the EEA Agreement) the Commission will be competent where there is dominance within the EU and to the ESA where there is dominance in the EFTA territory. Only where there is dominance in both territories do the principles outlined above apply. If also article 102 is applicable, the Commission will always be competent.

Other Considerations

The responsibility of the Commission can also follow pursuant to a transmission of a case from the ESA to it for reasons of competence. Member States must then be informed of the receipt of the case. Evidence already collected by the ESA can be used as well by the Commission.

Resources

See Also

References

• Information about Commission competence in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Further Reading

• Information about Commission competence in EU Competition Procedure, 3rd. Edition, Edited by Luis Ortiz Blanco (Oxford University Press)