The Damages Directive: towards more effective enforcement of the EU competition rules

Summary:

The new Directive 2014/104/EU on antitrust damages actions makes it a lot easier for victims of antitrust violations to claim compensation. Among other things, it will give victims easier access to evidence they need to prove the damage suffered and more time to make their claims. Up till now it was difficult to exercise this right in practice for all but the biggest companies. By harmonising procedures all over Europe, litigation to recover losses will become a realistic option for smaller companies, SMEs and consumers.

The Directive is designed to achieve more effective enforcement of the EU antitrust rules overall: it fine-tunes the interplay between private damages claims and public enforcement, and preserves the attractiveness of tools used by European and national competition authorities, in particular leniency and settlement programmes.

Because the Directive touches on issues of harmonisation in the internal market, Parliament and Council adopted it under the ordinary legislative procedure. This is the first time the European Parliament has been involved in legislation on enforcing EU competition rules. After the European Parliament's vote in the 17 April 2014 plenary, the Council formally adopted the Directive on 10 November. It was officially signed into law on 26 November and published in the EU Official Journal on 5 December. The Directive is based on a proposal submitted by the Commission on 11 June 2013.

Further information:

The Competition Policy Briefs are occasional papers by staff of the Competition Directorate-General of the European Commission about policy issues and key cases.

• Alternative Source 1
• Alternative Source 2