Conditions for opening of proceedings
Conditions for opening of proceedings
The conditions for opening proceedings are twofold: – Proceedings are opened “with a view to adopting a decision” under Articles 7 to 10 of Regulation 1/2003. 1 It follows that proceedings cannot be opened if at the material point in time the Commission does not intend to adopt a decision. However, the opening of proceedings does not prejudice in any way the existence of an infringement.
More about Conditions for opening of proceedings
– Given the legal consequences attached to the opening of proceedings the Commission's view must be underpinned by a certain number of objective factors. There must be reasonable indications of a likely infringement. 2
Resources
See Also
References
- Information about Conditions for opening of proceedings in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)
Notes
[Note 1] See Article 2 of the Implementing Regulation.
[Note 2] In the case of Article 10 decisions there must be indications that the adoption of a non-infringement decision would be in the EU public interest.
Further Reading
- Information about Conditions for opening of proceedings in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)