Interpretation of 'effect on trade' in the new EU member states and its consequences

Dr Maciej Bernatt from the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, University of Warsaw, will deliver a guest seminar on EU competition law at the School of Law, University of Leeds.

Dr Maciej Bernatt from the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, University of Warsaw, will deliver a guest seminar on EU competition law at the School of Law, University of Leeds. The seminar will involve a presentation entitled 'Interpretation of "Effect on Trade" in the New EU Member States and Its Consequences'. The seminar has been organised by the Centre for Business Law and Practice and will take place in Room G33 in the Liberty Building at 2 pm on 25 October 2017. 

Speaker's bio: Dr. Maciej Bernatt is Assistant Professor at the Department of European Economic Law (Jean Monnet Chair), Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw. He also acts as Scientific Secretary of the Centre of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies at the University of Warsaw. At the University he teaches EU economic law, competition law, as well as course in business and human rights. He has also lectured at universities in the USA and Ukraine. He has received scholarships and research grants from several institutions, including the Polish-U.S. Fulbright Commission and the Polish Minister of Science and Higher Education. He has published two books and numerous peer-reviewed articles both in Poland and abroad in, inter alia, the Common Market Law Review and the Columbia Journal of European Law. He is also a co-author of two leading commentaries to the Polish Competition Act and Polish Unfair Competition Act. He has been employed as a referendaire in Polish Supreme Court and the Polish Constitutional Tribunal.

Abstract of the presentation: Under Regulation 1/2003, NCAs of EU Member States must apply Articles 101–102 TFEU to anti-competitive conducts with an effect on intra-Community trade, and must notify the Commission of investigations and envisaged decisions based on Articles 101–102 TFEU. In the last decade, the NCAs of the “new” EU Member States have notified a lower number of envisaged decisions in comparison to “old” EU Member State; this has been explained by the institutional constraints of the individual NCAs. However, the paper shows that the NCAs of the “new” EU Member States have not been “less active” in terms of enforcement, but have adopted most of their decisions under the national competition rules. Also, there is significant divergence in the assessment of the effect on trade by the NCAs of the selected jurisdictions. Some NCAs have not taken account of the relevant ECJ case law and the 2004 Commission Notice on the effect on trade concept. The paper calls for a reform of Article 3(1) Regulation 1/2003, supplementing the effect on trade criterion with quantitative thresholds.