Skip to main content
Law
Competition Policy

Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance

Policy field

Competition: Antitrust

 

Target group

All citizens, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to the consultation.

Contributions are particularly sought from companies with business operations in the EU in all sectors of the economy, national authorities enforcing competition law, business associations, academics and legal professionals with expertise in applying EU competition law, economic consultancies, consumers associations.

 

Period of consultation

From 01.08.2024 to 31.10.2024

 

Objective of the consultation

Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU') prohibits dominant companies from engaging in abusive practices that are capable of excluding competitors from the market. This is one of the few areas of European competition law where no Guidelines clarify the application of the rules of the Treaty. However, the enforcement of Article 102 TFEU is key to ensuring that competition works effectively and that consumers can reap the benefits of competitive markets.

Against the background of market developments and the evolution of the EU Court’s case law, on 27 March 2023 the Commission launched the process leading to the adoption of guidelines on exclusionary abuses with a Call for Evidence. The replies to the Call for Evidence have been taken into account in the preparation of the draft Guidelines. 

The draft Guidelines aim at reflecting the EU courts' case law on exclusionary abuses in light of the extensive experience gained by the Commission in the enforcement of Article 102 TFEU. This will help increasing legal certainty to the benefit of consumers, businesses and the national competition authorities and national courts.

 

How to submit your contribution

We welcome contributions from citizens, organisations and public authorities.

  • Please click here to submit your contribution

Received contributions will be published on this webpage.  Submissions that are clearly marked "confidential" will be treated as such and not published. In that case please also provide a non-confidential version of your reply. It is important to read the privacy statement attached to this consultation for information on how your personal data and contribution will be dealt with.

When providing us with the documents requested above, please ensure that redactions made by you properly cover all confidential information and cannot be reversed.

Please note that we cannot guarantee to take account of replies received after the deadline.
We would appreciate receiving documents in an electronic format.

 

Consultation documents

 

Reference documents and other related consultations

 

Contact details

Responsible service:
Directorate-General for Competition – Unit A1
Please always indicate the reference number in your correspondence: HT.100055 Guidelines on exclusionary abuses

e-mail: COMP-ARTICLE-102-GUIDELINESatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (COMP-ARTICLE-102-GUIDELINES[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) 

Postal address:
European Commission
Directorate-General for Competition
Antitrust Registry
1049 Bruxelles /Brussel
Belgique /België

 

___________________

___________________