Review of the competition horizontal cooperation rules
28.9.2010
Question for oral answer O-0131/2010
to the Commission
Rule 115
Sharon Bowles
on behalf of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs
Both the current specialisation (Commission Regulation (EC) No 2658/2000[1]) and R&D (Commission Regulation (EC) No 2659/2000[2]) block exemption regulations will expire on 31 December 2010. The Commission intends to adopt two new block exemption regulations to replace them and some guidelines to help the stakeholders analyse and understand if their cooperation agreements are compatible with the competition rules, namely Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Moreover, contrary to a formerly critical evaluation of buying power of the retail sector, the Commission now generally welcomes joint purchasing agreements.
- Which specific contributions received from stakeholders during the consultation process does the Commission intend to incorporate in the final legislative framework?
- Did the Commission analyse whether stakeholders would benefit from the establishment of new specific block exemption regulations to cover other particular types of horizontal agreements other than specialisation and R&D? Would the Commission consider it useful to draft new block exemption regulations in the horizontal cooperation area?
- Does the Commission intend to tackle the problem of patent ambush in the framework of the new draft regulations or does it consider that complementary sector-specific legislation would be necessary to avoid abuse of patent rights? Is the Commission committed to ensure an integrated legislative framework between competition rules and sector-specific legislation in the area of intellectual property rights?
- Which specific decisions or case settlements did the Commission use to develop its new draft rules? How much did the Commission also build on the experience of EU national competition authorities and international competition authorities to develop the new draft rules?
- Did the economic crisis have any impact on cooperation between competition authorities worldwide in the process of drafting new legislation? Is there any ‘global governance’ developing in the area of competition policy at the level of the International Competition Network or any other forum?
- In the revision of the draft, how does the Commission intend to resolve the contradiction in its assessment of purchasing cooperatives and at the same time take into consideration the initiatives of the Parliament in this area?
Tabled: 28.9.2010
Forwarded: 30.9.2010
Deadline for reply: 7.10.2010