Cooperation and Competition: Dos and Don'ts under EU Antitrust Law

Authors

H. Kleene, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal AG Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft, Düsseldorf / Hannover

Year

2020

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 813

Summary

Examples of cooperation between automotive companies in different areas can be found in large numbers. But they can trigger extensive investigative measures by national and European antitrust authorities and lead to high fines. In principle, cartel law prohibits companies from engaging in practices that restrict competition. Nevertheless, since cooperation between companies can also have desirable effects even from a competition point of view, exceptions to the ban on cartels exist. These follow the guiding principle that the restriction of competition has to be necessary in order to achieve an advantage for consumers which outweighs the restriction in the end. From this system, rough guidelines for cooperation in practice can be derived. Yet, in individual cases comprehensive legal advice must always be obtained.