The European Commission is undertaking a review of its approach to unilateral conduct cases, including a revision of Regulation 1/2003 in order to modernise competition law enforcement. This paper shows that a high percentage of antitrust investigations that the Commission had formally prioritised (and at times even issued a Statement of Objections) have been closed without any finding - 20% of Article 102 investigations over a 20-year span of Regulation 1/2003.
This paper explores the reasons why these investigations closed and finds that while around half were closed due to insufficient evidence the remainder were closed following a cessation of impugned behaviour, informal ‘remedies`, settlements with complainants or other regulatory solutions. This paper therefore fills a gap in the literature and provides insight into the Commission’s enforcement practices. Such closures provide an opportunity to the Commission to give additional guidance in appropriate cases to market participants and National Competition Authorities on its enforcement priorities. The paper explores these opportunities and offers recommendations.
