Guidance Letters Effects

The effects of Guidance Letters

Guidance letters are in the first place intended to help undertakings carry out, by themselves, an informed assessment of their agreements and practices.

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A guidance letter cannot prejudge the assessment of the same question by the EU Courts.

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Where an agreement or practice has formed the factual basis for a guidance letter, the Commission is not precluded from subsequently examining that same agreement or practice in a procedure under Regulation 1/2003, in particular following a complaint. In that case, the Commission will take the previous guidance letter into account, subject in particular to changes in the underlying facts, to any new aspects raised by a complaint, to developments in the case law of the European Courts or wider changes of the Commission's policy.

Other Considerations

Guidance letters are not Commission decisions and do not bind Member States' competition authorities or courts that have the power to apply Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. However, it is open to Member States' competition authorities and courts to take account of guidance letters issued by the Commission as they see fit in the context of a case.

Resources

See Also

References

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

Further Reading

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