State of play meeting

State of play meeting

DG Competition endeavours to give, on its own initiative or upon request, parties subject to the proceedings ample opportunity for open and frank discussions and to make their points of view known throughout the procedure. 1

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In this respect, DG Competition will offer a State of Play meeting (in principle, although not normally in the context of cartel proceedings) shortly after the opening of proceedings informing the parties subject to the proceedings of the issues identified at this stage and of the anticipated scope of the investigation 2 .

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This meeting provides the parties with an opportunity to react initially to the issues identified and may also serve to assist the Directorate General for Competition in deciding on the appropriate framework for its further investigation.

Other Considerations

This meeting may also be used to discuss with the parties any relevant language waivers that may be appropriate for the conduct of the investigation.

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DG Competition may at this stage indicate a tentative timetable for the case. Such tentative timetable will, if appropriate, be updated at following State of Play meetings.

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State of Play meetings are normally conducted at the Commission's premises, but if appropriate, they may be held by telephone or videoconference. Senior DG Competition management (Director or Deputy Director General) will normally chair the meeting. However in cases involving multiple parties, the meeting may be chaired by the responsible head of unit. The Legal Service and the Hearing Officer will be invited to the State of Play meetings and may decide to participate.

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For fuller details, reference is made to Chapter 2.9 of the Notice on Antitrust Best Practices.

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See Also

References

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

Notes

[Note 1] See Chap. 2.9 of the Notice on Antitrust Best Practices.
[Note 2] See Notice on Antitrust Best Practices, paragraph 63(1). Further State of Play meetings will be offered at a sufficiently advanced stage in the investigation as well as after the parties' reply to the Statement of Objections or after the Oral Hearing (see Notice on Antitrust Best Practices, paragraphs 63(2) and 64).

Further Reading

• Information about State of play meeting in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)

State of Play meeting

According to the Best Practices Notice 1 , where an SO is issued, the parties will also be offered a State of Play meeting after their reply to the SO or after the oral hearing, if any. The parties will at this moment normally be informed of the Commission's preliminary view on how it intends to pursue the case further.

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In the context of cartel proceedings, (only) one State of Play meeting will be offered after the oral hearing 2 .

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References

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

Notes

[Note 1] Paragraph 64.
[Note 2] Best Practices Notice, paragraph 65.

Further Reading

• Information about State of Play meeting in “An Introduction to EU Competition Law”, Moritz Lorenz (Cambridge University Press)

State of Play Meeting

A State of Play meeting will be offered to parties which signal an interest in discussing commitments. At this meeting to which the Legal Service and Hearing officer team will be invited and may decide to participate, DG Competition will present the preliminary competition concerns arising from the investigation. Since the description of the case in the State of Play meeting is, in practice, the main basis for the company under investigation to decide whether to submit commitments or not (it will only receive a written “preliminary assessment” after it states its initial readiness to offer commitments), this summary of the competition concerns should be prepared with great care. Even if the Commission's competition concerns are only presented orally to the parties, the Commission's presentation should be well-structured and allow the parties to understand exactly the theory of harm and the underlying factual evidence. The parties should also be given the opportunity to ask questions regarding the competition concern in order to be able to report the Commission's concerns clearly to their internal decision-making bodies. The Commission will also indicate to the undertaking the timeframe within which the discussions on potential commitments should be concluded.

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The case team should clarify that the State of Play meeting is without prejudice to the decision of the Commissioner for Competition whether to proceed along the commitment decision track. In addition, it is important for the case team to bear in mind that ultimately it is for the College to decide whether to adopt a commitment decision. It is therefore also essential that during the ensuing discussions on potential commitments, no final position is taken by the case team on their appropriateness.

Resources

See Also

References

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

Further Reading

• Information about State of Play Meeting in EU Competition Procedure, 3rd. Edition, Edited by Luis Ortiz Blanco (Oxford University Press)