Comments on the Reform of the Application of Article 82 of the EC Treaty
Publication date : 12/12/2005 | Document Number : 225/623
The EC Treaty makes clear that its competition rules are designed to establish “a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted” (Art. 3(1)(g)). In applying Article 82, this means preventing practices of dominant firms that distort the normal functioning of the market.
This is the first ICC paper on reform of the application of Article 82 EC.It deals with a number of general points.
We will in a subsequent paper address some specific forms of abuse of dominant position.
We also intend to comment on the draft Guidelines when available.
We begin by reviewing the purpose of Article 82 and its implications for the benchmarks to be
used.
We then comment on what we recommend as a modernized approach to dominance, relevant
market and abuse.
We end by stating briefly how a modernized application of Article 82 would contribute to the pursuit of the objectives of the Lisbon Agenda.