Regulation 1/2003

Evaluation of Regulations 1/2003 and 773/2004

The current framework for the application of EU competition rules is set out in Regulation 1/2003. Regulation 1/2003 came into force on 1 May 2004 and replaced the procedural framework for the application of EU competition rules set out in Regulation 17 of 6 February 1962. Regulation 773/2004 set out the procedural framework for the application of Regulation 1/2003 and also came into force on 1 May 2004.

The Commission’s Directorate General for Competition, national competition authorities and other stakeholders have had over 20 years of practice and experience in the application of Regulation 1/2003 and Regulation 773/2004. The time was therefore ripe to evaluate the procedural framework that the Regulations have created. This evaluation, launched in March 2022, was particularly pertinent in light of the digitisation of the economy and the Commission’s priority of creating a Europe that is fit for the digital age.

The objective of the evaluation was to gather evidence on the functioning of the procedural antitrust framework under Regulations 1/2003 and 773/2004. In line with the Better Regulation Guidelines principles, the evaluation was based on five criteria: (i) effectiveness, (ii) efficiency, (iii) relevance, (iv) coherence, and (v) EU added value. The evaluation phase included several activities detailed below allowing interested stakeholders to provide feedback.

The results of the evaluation are summarised in the evaluation report in the form of a Staff Working Document. An Executive Summary is available in EN, DE and FR.

Press Release
QandA

1. Results of the public consultation

The Commission sought the views of stakeholders on the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of Regulation 1/2003. To this end, both a short questionnaire and a detailed questionnaire were published in parallel.

The responses to the shorter questionnaire may be found on the Better Regulation webpage.

Responses to the detailed questionnaire can be found here and annexes here.

Position papers were also sent by stakeholders in the context of the public consultation. These can be found here.

A factual summary of the contributions received in the context of the public consultation on the evaluation of Regulations 1/2003 and 774/2004 can be found here.

2. NCAs Feeback

NCAs provided feedback to the evaluation via an internal survey within the ECN. A summary of the feedback can be found here.

3. Evaluation support study

The Commission launched an open call for tender for an evaluation support study to assist it in the evaluation. The study contract was awarded in December 2022.

The final report of the evaluation support study can be found here. This study involved: (i) over 250 expert interviews with external lawyers and in-house counsels; (ii) desk research; and (iii) collecting and analysing data from the Commission, NCAs and non-EU jurisdictions. The study provides input on (i) the general application of the Regulations, (ii) the investigative tools, (iii) the decision-making powers, (iv) the procedural rights of parties and third parties during investigations and (v) the functioning of the ECN and NCA procedural features.

4. Conference “20 Years of Reg. 1/2003: A (r)evolutionary tale”

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On 20 June 2023, DG Competition celebrated twenty years of EU antitrust enforcement under Regulation 1/2003 with a conference that brought together leading experts to discuss and reflect on the achievements, needs and challenges of the current antitrust procedural framework. See here for more details on the programme and video recordings.

5. Interactive Workshop

On 12 October 2023, DG Competition organised a specialised interactive workshop to gather stakeholder views that will assist in its evaluation of Regulations 1/2003 and 773/2004. See here for more details on the topics discussed. A summary of the workshop sessions can be found here.