The European Commission has initiated a public consultation draft guidelines to the abuse of exclusionary dominant positions. 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).
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 on its view of naked restrictions – a pattern of behaviour by a dominant undertaking that is solely intended to exclude its rivals. It was noted that such conduct will only be exempt from being considered exclusionary in “very exceptional cases.”
All interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the draft Guidelines by 31 October 2024. The Commission plans to finalise the draft on the basis of the comments received in the public consultation during 2025.