The European Commission has initiated a public consultation on the draft guidelines to the abuse of exclusionary dominant positions on 1 August. Interested parties may submit their comments on the draft by 31 October 2024.
In its latest joint statement, the European Competition Network – comprised of the national competition authorities – welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to adopt the guidelines. The ECN has actively contributed to the development of the draft Guidelines.
The objective of the guidelines is to provide clarification and increase legal certainty in enforcing Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In relation to the guidelines, the Commission has stated that loyalty rebates, predatory pricing, certain margin squeezes, some forms of tying and exclusive supply or purchasing agreements may prevent rivals from entering or expanding in a given market. The Commission also elaborated that naked restrictions will only be exempt from being considered exclusionary in “very exceptional cases.”
The joint statement of the ECN can be read on the Commission's website.