The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of regulatory agencies at both the national and the EU level. This coherent and clearly structured book is the first of its kind to analyse in equal measure, and interdependently, both national regulatory authorities and European agencies. It brings together a select group of highly esteemed contributors - authorities in their fields - to provide a systematic and over-arching view of regulation in the EU. Unlike many of the previous attempts to shed light on this increasingly opaque and complex co-existence of regulatory systems, this book takes a genuinely multi-disciplinary approach with integrated perspectives from law, politics and economics. Exploring firstly the rationales for the existence of agencies, the book then goes on to examine how agencies are designed in the EU before considering the legal and political challenges they raise, and finally comparing them with international agencies and agencies in an enlarged Europe and the wider world. Academic researchers in the fields of law, economics and politics will find Regulation through Agencies in the EU of great interest as will EU law practitioners, policymakers and regulators in Europe.

The opening of the European postal market to competition is gaining ground as Member States transpose the 1997 postal directive into their national legislation and private postal companies expand their market shares. Moreover, changing regulatory trends (for example, the ever-lower weight and price limits delimitating the scope of the reserved area) encourage further growth in the continuing liberalization of this important network industry. In this informative symposium, 19 practitioners and academics expert in postal sector dynamics present detailed research findings, analysis, and recommendations. The book is based on a conference held in Brussels in February 2001, under the auspices of the Universities of Liege and Ghent and the Free University of Brussels. It provides an in-depth assessment of the challenges presented not only by the prospect of liberalization but also by the transition (of particular significance during the next few years) from the traditional monopoly system. Among the critical matters discussed are the following: terminal dues for international mail; remail provisions; the UPU and WTO constraints on the European postal market; EU Commission decisions and ECJ case law interpreting the postal directive; the effects of EC Treaty Articles 81 and 82 and the Merger Control Regulation; abuse of market power, especially by incumbent public postal operators; the "essential facilities" doctrine; and funding of universal service obligations. In addition, there are specific country reports from five EU Member States (France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom) and Norway, bearing witness to the diversity of means adopted to implement the postal directive. Business persons and their counsel, regulatory officials, practitioners, and academics interested in the creation of an EU-wide postal market-as well as in the ongoing reliability and improvement of postal service - should find this text valuable.

In this edited work, European experts in the energy field provide perspectives on the principal issues raised by the liberalization of the electricity and natural-gas markets in the EU. The various analyses are collected under four headings. Part One - Competition - discusses how, even when the market is fully open, substantial impediments to competition remain, such as long-term contracts, refusal of access to essential infrastructures or lack of capacity in interconnectors. Contributors discuss these deadlocks and suggest possible breakthroughs. In Part Two - Transmission and Trading - experts deal with network access and pricing and energy trading. Third-party access to the network is a critical factor in ensuring a real liberalization of the market, but it raises complex technical, economic and legal issues. Liberalization has also stimulated new forms of energy trading, including physical contracts and purely financial tools. The legal and economic framework of these new forms of transactions is discussed. In Part Three - Environment and Consumer Protection - experts investigate the extent to which the liberalization process favours industrial interests and explore in what ways environmental and consumer concerns are (or could be) an integral part of liberalized energy policy. Finally, in National Experiences, contributors discuss different approaches taken by four Member States (Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands) in opening their energy markets.

Key features:- Edited by leading academics and an experienced practitioner - Combines both practical insight and scholarly analysis - A rich compendium of commentary and analysis on all the main themes of competition law - Extensive coverage of both substantive, procedural and enforcement issues in two volumes. Handbook on European Competition Law: Substantive Aspects sets the context for examination of substantive law by reviewing and analyzing the goals of competition law. It then covers the substantive building blocks of EU competition law, including horizontal and vertical agreements, cartels, mergers, and also provides valuable coverage of the interaction between competition and regulation, hub and spoke collusion, and information exchange agreements. The importance of the abuse of dominance doctrine is reflected in three discrete chapters considering exploitative abuses, exclusionary pricing abuses, and exclusionary non-pricing abuses. The companion volume, Handbook on European Competition Law: Enforcement and Procedure, sets out in detail the procedural aspects of EU Competition Law, ranging from fines, remedies and judicial review. It also gives unique insight into both private and public enforcement of completion law, and offers commentary on the relationship between EU competition law and national competition law, and on the relationship between competition law and private international law. This Handbook will be an indispensable reference work for practitioners and scholars, as well as for those in an enforcement environment. Contributors: S. Anderman, A. Coscelli, G. Edwards, G. Faella, M.S. Gal, A. Jones, I. Kokkoris, I. Lianos, L. Lovdahl Gormsen, D. Mantzari, L.D.S. Morais, R. Nazzini, O. Odudu, N. Petit, A. Stephan, J. Tapia, F. Wagner-von Papp

Key features:- Edited by leading academics and an experienced practitioner - Combines both practical insight and scholarly analysis - A rich compendium of commentary and analysis on all the main themes of competition law - Extensive coverage of both substantive, procedural and enforcement issues in two volumes. Handbook on European Competition Law: Enforcement and Procedure sets out in detail the procedural aspects of EU competition law, ranging from fines, remedies and judicial review. It also gives unique insight into both private and public enforcement of completion law, and offers commentary on the relationship between EU competition law and national competition law, and on the relationship between competition law and private international law. The companion volume, Handbook on European Competition Law: Substantive Aspects, sets the context for examination of substantive law by reviewing and analyzing the goals of competition law. It then covers the substantive building blocks of EU competition law, including horizontal and vertical agreements, cartels, mergers, and also provides valuable coverage of the interaction between competition and regulation, hub and spoke collusion, and information exchange agreements. The importance of the abuse of dominance doctrine is reflected in three discrete chapters considering exploitative abuses, exclusionary pricing abuses, and exclusionary non-pricing abuses. This Handbook will be an indispensable reference work for practitioners and scholars, as well as for those in an enforcement environment. Contributors: A. Andreangeli, K. Cseres, C. Genakos, D. Geradin, D.M.B. Gerard, Y. Katsoulacos, A.P. Komninos, N. Levy, I. Lianos, C. Malamataris, B.J. Rodger, H. Schweitzer, D. Ulph, J. Wileur

Trade and the Environment is a penetrating analysis of the relation between trade and environmental protection policies in the EC and the US. It argues that the international tensions arising from policies designed to protect trade and the environment can be resolved by the free trade provisions of the EC Treaty and the US Constitution, and from the setting of common environmental standards for all parties. It discusses also the contributions of the judiciary and legislature toward the solution of these tensions. The interaction between them, writes Dr Geradin, shapes the balance between trade and environmental objectives in the Community and the United States. More generally, they define the progress of environmental protection in these systems.

This edited collection consolidates research on the current and future perspectives of international trade law applicable to telecommunications services and audiovisual services in a context of convergence. It is divided into three main parts. The first part analyses the current regulatory framework applicable to telecommunications services in the context of the WTO, including the controversial issues of accounting rates and international competition rules. The second part discusses and analyses the current regulatory framework applicable to audiovisual services. The third part analyses convergence from different angles, including an explanation of convergence in technical terms, as well as reviewing the legal and economic consequences of convergence for trade in telecommunications and audiovisual services. This research lead the editors to summarize the findings made in the chapters and to draw a tentative set of issues to be discussed in the context of the Doha Round of negotiations.

Trade and the Environment is a penetrating analysis of the relation between trade and environmental protection policies in the EC and the US. It argues that the international tensions arising from policies designed to protect trade and the environment can be resolved by the free trade provisions of the EC Treaty and the US Constitution, and from the setting of common environmental standards for all parties. It discusses also the contributions of the judiciary and legislature toward the solution of these tensions. The interaction between them, writes Dr Geradin, shapes the balance between trade and environmental objectives in the Community and the United States. More generally, they define the progress of environmental protection in these systems.

Economic regulation in the telecommunications sector can be performed through economy-wide instruments, such as antitrust law and antitrust authorities, or through sector-specific instruments, such as telecommunications regulation and regulatory authorities. Relying on a comparative analysis of five countries, the present book seeks to shed some light on the respective roles of both types of instruments in liberalized telecommunications markets.

Trade and Environment provides a complete set of the major dispute settlement or judicial decisions on environment-related issues under three international trade regimes: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor the World Trade Organization (WTO); the Canada-USA Free Trade Agreement (precursor to the North America Free Trade Agreement); and the European Community. It also provides extracts from other cases dealing with issues relevant to future trade and environment controversies. A convenient compendium for policy makers in government and NGOs, academic researchers, students, and business advisors.

Regulatory Competition and Economic Integration addresses one of the hottest policy questions on both sides of the Atlantic. Esty and Geradin bring together top-notch scholars from both Europe and the United States to examine the various aspects of the debate between 'harmonization' and 'regulatory competition' across three comparative dimensions. The book provides a sharp focus on the circumstances that would yield gains from regulatory competition and to contrast those cases where heightened co-operation in standard setting or broader regulatory harmonization might increase social welfare.

The significant evolution of EU competition law in the last 15 years has been fundamentally influenced by economic theory, and economic aspects of cartel prosecution are increasingly relevant in modern competition practice. EU Cartel Law and Economics is the first book-length assessment of cartels from an integrated law and economics perspective. This perspective allows for a more insightful evaluation of the wide variety of practices at the intersection between collusive restrictions of competition and pro-competitive agreements between firms. It sheds light on the underlying mechanics of cartels, including how to detect anti-competitive conspiracies in the absence of hard evidence. It also provides a more conceptual approach to cartel law, outlining ways in which the current legal structure can be applied more effectively to deter anti-competitive conduct without discouraging pro-competitive forms of cooperation between firms. The book is divided into four parts: the first part provides a conceptual overview of the law and economics of cartels; the second part describes the central legal analysis in cartel cases; the third part summarises the regulatory process in cartel investigations; and the fourth part deals with civil damages. EU Cartel Law and Economics is a topical and innovative reference work written by recognised experts in the field.

This is the first EU competition law treatise that fully integrates economic reasoning in its treatment of the decisional practice of the European Commission and the case-law of the European Court of Justice. Since the European Commission's move to a "more economic approach" to competition law reasoning and decisional practice, the use of economic argument in competition law cases has become a stricter requirement. Many national competition authorities are also increasingly moving away from a legalistic analysis of a firm's conduct to an effect-based analysis of such conduct, indeed most competition cases today involve teams composed of lawyers and industrial organisation economists.
Competition law books tend to have either only cursory coverage of economics, have separate sections on economics, or indeed are far too technical in the level of economic understanding they assume. Ensuring a genuinely integrated approach to legal and economic analysis, this major new work is written by a team combining the widely recognised expertise of two competition law practitioners and a prominent economic consultant. The book contains economic reasoning throughout in accessible form, and, more pertinently for practitioners, examines economics in the light of how it is used and put to effect in the courts and decision-making institutions of the EU. A general introductory section sets EU competition law in its historical context. The second chapter goes on to explore the economics foundations of EU Competition law. What follows then is an integrated treatment of each of the core substantive areas of EU competition law, including Article 101 TFEU, Article 102 TFEU, mergers, cartels and other horizontal agreements, vertical restraints and technology transfer agreements.

This is the second edition of the acclaimed text on global antitrust law. With markets becoming increasingly global, mergers requiring approval in several different jurisdictions, cartels in one nation affecting supply in others, and countries increasingly entering into treaties with each other about the content or enforcement of competition laws, antitrust law is now a truly global phenomenon. Modern antitrust law is also different because it now reflects an increasingly economic approach to analysing antitrust and competition policy. This innovative work is the only truly comparative and economically sophisticated casebook on the market. Addressed to students from all jurisdictions having competition laws, this casebook provides an in-depth analysis of the two major global antitrust regimes in the world, as well as a summary of selected national antitrust laws. As such it will also serve as a useful reference for practitioners, competition officials and policy-makers interested in competition law. In the four years since the first edition, the increased globalization of antitrust law has continued apace. China, the world's third largest economy after the EU and US, has adopted an antitrust law and other nations have modified and modernized their antitrust regimes. The EU has adopted a new EU Treaty, new EU guidelines on abuse of dominance, new EU guidelines on non-horizontal mergers, and new EU regulations and guidelines on vertical agreements. In the US there have been important new Supreme Court cases (the 2009 Linkline and 2010 American Needle decisions) and the appearance of a new economic approach in the revised 2010 U.S. Merger Guidelines. This new edition expands and updates the pioneering approach of the first edition, addressing new developments not only in the US and EU, but also in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Africa, and South Korea, with expanded coverage of China's new antitrust law, and the antitrust laws of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Venezuela. Praise for the first edition '...worthy of considerable praise...contains a vast collection of well-chosen material taking in a wide span of both antitrust and merger law issues. It is well written and clear throughout, particularly on the economic concepts, and provides incisive commentary and questions which inspire further study.' Peter Whelan, Cambridge Law Journal 'Enlightened law professors and law schools will best serve their students not by teaching national competition law but by adopting Global Competition Law and Economics...an excellent book for introductory courses in comparative competition law at either a graduate or undergraduate level.' Okeoghene Odudu, Common Market Law Review '...the best four-and-a-half centimetres of shelf-space that I have seen devoted to competition law and policy issues for a very long time".' Yvonne van Roy, New Zealand Law Journal 'Free from the ideologically-driven perspective that can affect other antitrust casebooks, this is also the first casebook organized from inception with an eye directly on the global context...this book may be used in a classroom in Europe just as it will be used in the U.S. The result is a highly welcome contribution to the evolution of competition studies.' Judge Douglas Ginsburg '...this book is the only one on the market that is extremely well suited for use in a comparative antitrust law class...an extraordinarily teachable book that contains everything you might want to present...Finally, the comparative antitrust field has a standard textbook to use. And a wonderful standard it is.' Robert H Lande, University of Baltimore Law School

The text explores the many legal and economic challenges emerging from the liberalization process engaged by the European Community with respect to state monopolies. It is divided into three parts. Taking a sectoral approach, the first part is devoted to expert analyses of the liberalization measures adopted by the Community in the areas of telecommunications, postal services, energy and air and rail transport. The objective is to provide a detailed and up-to-date review of the most significant developments that have taken place in these key industry sectors. The second part deals with more conceptual issues, such as the impact of the liberalization process on consumer protection and public service obligations. It also analyzes the main issues emerging from the creation of "strategic alliances" in the telecommunications and aviation sectors. The third part takes a comparative and international law perspective. It examines the extent to which monopolies have been opened to competition in the United States and the lessons which may be drawn from the American experience. It also discusses the liberalization measures negotiated in the framework of the World Trade Organization, with a special reference to the agreement recently concluded in the area of telecommunications. The papers written in the book are by leading experts on state monopolies, and take a pluridisciplinary approach covering not only legal but also economic and political science issues.