Rejection of Complaints Procedure Second step

Rejection of Complaints Procedure Second step: Article 7(2) Decision

The rejection decision is a formal decision by the Commission. It is adopted by the Commissioner under empowerment. It can be appealed before the European Union Courts.

More about Rejection of Complaints Procedure Second step

The rejection decision is limited to rejecting the complaint, it does not 'bless' the agreement or practice complained of. Rejection of a complaint by the Commission is without prejudice to NCAs or national courts acting regarding the same case.

More about the Subject

According to case law, the statement of reasons of the Commission's rejection decision must disclose the reasoning followed so as to enable the complainant to ascertain the reasons for rejection and to enable the competent European Union Court to exercise its power of review. The Commission is not obliged to adopt a position on all the arguments raised but only needs to set out the considerations which are decisive for the rejection of the complaint. 1

Other Considerations

In practice, the rejection decision is developed from the Article 7 letter, taking into account any additional elements or arguments brought forward by the complainant in its reply.

More

If the Commission has adopted an Article 10 or Article 9 decision, that decision can be referred to in the rejection and serve as reasoning 2 .

Resources

See Also

References

• Information about Rejection of Complaints Procedure Second step in the Antitrust Manual of Procedures for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (Internal DG Competition)

Notes

[Note 1] Settled case law, cf. i.a. Case T-114/92 BEMIM, [1995] ECR II-147, paragraph 41; cf. also Notice on Complaints, para 75.
[Note 2] Cf. also Notice on Complaints, para 76.

Further Reading

• Information about Rejection of Complaints Procedure Second step in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)