This innovative textbook, now in its second edition, presents EU competition law in political, economic and comparative context. It brings competition law to life from an EU and global perspective, with cross currents of trade and industrial policy and attention to the intervention of the state in the market. Quintessentially readable, the book deftly and concisely excerpts the key cases and embeds them in explanatory materials, including policy statements and regulations. It is entirely up to date and integrates, for example, new issues of power in the digital economy. Notes accompanying the cases raise hard questions and explain the fascinating issues underlying contemporary competition policy in the European Union and around the world. The book covers the full range of competition law and policy subjects, namely: the Treaties and the single market, cartels, other horizontal and vertical agreements, abuses of dominance, merger control, and state restraints including State aids. Among key features, the book: integrates law, economics and policies, providing a holistic sense of competition law and its place in the EU system is unusually concise, given its coverage, while explaining the critical nuances of cases by means of notes and questions provides a unique comparative perspective by including excerpts of landmark US antitrust cases and numerous other comparative references. This book is a perfect textbook for students of EU competition law and even competition law in general, given that most nations in the antitrust family of the world build their competition laws upon the EU model. It is useful for specialized seminars on European, US, and other nations’ and regions’ competition laws. It is also an excellent desk book and resource for academics, enforcers and practitioners in the field.

This innovative textbook, now in its second edition, presents EU competition law in political, economic and comparative context. It brings competition law to life from an EU and global perspective, with cross currents of trade and industrial policy and attention to the intervention of the state in the market. Quintessentially readable, the book deftly and concisely excerpts the key cases and embeds them in explanatory materials, including policy statements and regulations. It is entirely up to date and integrates, for example, new issues of power in the digital economy. Notes accompanying the cases raise hard questions and explain the fascinating issues underlying contemporary competition policy in the European Union and around the world. The book covers the full range of competition law and policy subjects, namely: the Treaties and the single market, cartels, other horizontal and vertical agreements, abuses of dominance, merger control, and state restraints including State aids. Among key features, the book: integrates law, economics and policies, providing a holistic sense of competition law and its place in the EU system is unusually concise, given its coverage, while explaining the critical nuances of cases by means of notes and questions provides a unique comparative perspective by including excerpts of landmark US antitrust cases and numerous other comparative references. This book is a perfect textbook for students of EU competition law and even competition law in general, given that most nations in the antitrust family of the world build their competition laws upon the EU model. It is useful for specialized seminars on European, US, and other nations’ and regions’ competition laws. It is also an excellent desk book and resource for academics, enforcers and practitioners in the field.

This clear and concise textbook presents EU competition law in political, economic and comparative context. It combines excerpts from key EU rulings with discussions of enforcement policy issues and comparisons with US antitrust cases. Untangling the complex set of factors driving individual outcomes, it is the perfect companion for any student or practitioner in the field. Successive chapters explore the tools used by competition authorities in Europe: to punish cartels that fix prices or divide markets; assess cooperative agreements between rival firms and supplier-customer relationships; to establish a dominant position and find abuses; and review the competitive effects of mergers and acquisitions. The book also explains how authorities determine when business restraints infringe on the principles governing the EU internal market, and when Member States contravene the rules protecting the European competition system including by means of subsidies known as State aids. More than a reference tool, this innovative book provides a rounded account of the various dimensions of EU competition law, of its place at the heart of the EU market integration project and of its relevance for the enforcement of antitrust principles worldwide. Key features: provides a clear, concise and up-to-date presentation of the law includes important excerpts from all seminal competition decisions and judgements of the European Commission and the EU Courts explains the critical nuances of cases by means of contextual notes and questions integrates law, economics and other policies, providing a holistic sense of competition law and its place in the European system compares EU competition law with US antitrust law, analysing the root of their differences and enabling the reader to derive comparative insights supports general and advanced EU and international competition law courses.

Due to the growing influence of economics and economists in competition law and policy discourse and the internationalization of antitrust, the equity versus efficiency trade-off debate has played a defining role in the transformation of the dominant paradigm governing competition law enforcement since at least the 1970s. The debate remains crucial today as issues of economic inequality and its interaction with efficiency become of central concern to policy and decision-makers in competition law, as well as in other spheres of public policy. Despite their central role in the grammar of competition law on the global plane, the intellectual underpinnings of the interactions between 'equity' and 'efficiency' in the context of competition law have never been examined in-depth. This book aims precisely to fill this gap by discussing new approaches in understanding the role of efficiency and equity concerns in competition law.

Due to the growing influence of economics and economists in competition law and policy discourse and the internationalization of antitrust, the equity versus efficiency trade-off debate has played a defining role in the transformation of the dominant paradigm governing competition law enforcement since at least the 1970s. The debate remains crucial today as issues of economic inequality and its interaction with efficiency become of central concern to policy and decision-makers in competition law, as well as in other spheres of public policy. Despite their central role in the grammar of competition law on the global plane, the intellectual underpinnings of the interactions between 'equity' and 'efficiency' in the context of competition law have never been examined in-depth. This book aims precisely to fill this gap by discussing new approaches in understanding the role of efficiency and equity concerns in competition law.