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Competition Policy

Complaints

The Commission encourages citizens and firms to inform them about suspected infringements of competition rules.

If you are directly affected by the practice which you suspect restricts competition and are able to provide specific information, you may want to lodge a formal complaint, which must fulfil certain requirements. The complaint form (“Form C”) is available on the Commission Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 of 7 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty [1]. Official Journal L 123, 27.04.2004, p.18-24 (see the form on the last page “Annex”).

Information on how the Commission handles complaints is available on the Commission Notice on the handling of complaints by the Commission under Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty (Articles 101 and 102 TFEU) (Official Journal C 115, 9.5.2008, p. 88–89). 

 

You can provide information on a specific market where you may have concerns regarding compliance with EU competition rules by e-mail to comp-market-informationatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (comp-market-information[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu). Please indicate your name and address, identify the firms and products concerned and describe the practice you have observed. This will help the Commission to detect problems in the market and be the starting point for an investigation. We invite you to read our e-services privacy policy before contacting us. You can also send your complaint by post: European Commission, Competition DG, B - 1049 Brussels.

If the situation you have encountered is limited to one country or area, or involves no more than three EU Member States you may want to contact a national competition authority. The competition authorities of all EU Member States now apply the same competition rules as the European Commission and very often they are well placed to deal with your problem. If you think that a larger number of Member States are concerned, you may primarily chose to contact the European Commission. If you are not sure about the scope of the problem, do not hesitate to contact either the European Commission or the national competition authority because the authorities cooperate among them and will allocate the case as appropriate.