Ex Officio Action

Interim Measures: Ex Officio Action

Article 8(1) of Regulation 1/2003 explicitly confirms that the Commission may issue an interim order 'acting on its own initiative'.

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While it can be expected that undertakings being harmed by anti-competitive conduct will request the Commission to impose interim orders, Regulation 1/2003 does not formally acknowledge undertakings' right to make such requests. Complainants or third parties who can demonstrate sufficient interest to be heard may encourage the Commission to adopt such measures. However, under Article 8(1) of Regulation 1/2003, the Commission acts ex officio. This means that complainants do not have a right to ask for interim measures under Regulation 1/2003, and the Commission is therefore no longer 1 obliged to decide on any (informal) request for interim measures and, if necessary, to reject it by decision. However, the Commission's decision to adopt interim measures is subject to appeal before the EU Courts.

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Complainants can on the other hand seek interim measures before national courts 2 pursuant to national procedural rules.

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See Also

References

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

Notes

[Note 1] Under Regulation No. 17, according to the case law parties had a right to request interim measures, and the Commission was obliged to adopt a formal appealable decision on such a request.
[Note 2] See paragraph 16 of the Commission Notice on the handling of complaints by the Commission under Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty (2004/C 101/05).

Further Reading

• Information about Ex Officio Action in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)