Competition Law in the EU: Principles, Substance, Enforcement

This incisive textbook enhances understanding of EU competition law, exploring significant substantive and enforcement issues relating to antitrust, merger control and state aid law. Providing an examination of well-established doctrines, landmark judgements and the impact of recent developments, this textbook also highlights the importance of the interplay between domestic and European competition law by discussing national competition rules and frameworks. Competition Law in the EU will be an invaluable resource for advanced undergraduate and masters-level students of European or comparative competition law. The textbook will also be beneficial to other postgraduate researchers and practitioners; in particular, it will be a useful guide for in-house company training courses. Key features include: A focus on the European and national dimensions of the EU competition rules, including the shared enforcement responsibilities of the European Commission and national authorities Analysis of recent developments in competition law, including digital markets Discussion of the impact of issues such as Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic Critical assessment and thorough analysis of the most significant competition law issues.

Table of Contents:
Contents: PART I – PREREQUISITES OF COMPETITION LAW 1. The context of European competition law 2. Key concepts and categorisations 3. The economics of competition law PART II – ANTITRUST LAW 4. Introduction to antitrust law: the scope of EU and national antitrust provisions 5. The cartel prohibition and the ban on anti-competitive agreements 6. The prohibition to abuse a dominant position PART III – ENFORCEMENT OF THE ANTITRUST RULES 7. Preliminary enforcement considerations 8. Public enforcement of the EU antitrust rules 9. Private enforcement of the EU antitrust rules PART IV – CONCENTRATION CONTROL 10. Concentration control PART V – COMPETITION RULES ADDRESSED TO THE MEMBER STATES 11. The state and competition 12. State aid law PART VI – CONCLUSIONS 13. Conclusions: the evolving role of European competition law Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Johan W. van de Gronden, Professor of European Law, Department of International and European Law, Radboud University Nijmegen, and State Counsellor in Extraordinary Service, the Dutch Council of State, the Netherlands and Catalin S. Rusu, Associate Professor of European Law, Department of International and European Law, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands

Review :
‘A highly accessible introduction to all aspects of what is a complex and ever-expanding subject. It will similarly be a very useful reference source for others who need a general understanding of competition law, including in-house counsel, general commercial lawyers and junior lawyers setting out on their career in competition law.’ 'This clear and accessible resource on EU antitrust law and policy is a welcome addition to the literature. Johan van de Gronden and Catalin Rusu have successfully distilled a wide range of EU case law and policy into a critical account of the direction of EU law. Increasingly, knowledge of EU antitrust law is of importance to understand not only the internal policy approach, but also how this influences external EU trade policy, alongside comparative approaches to antitrust policy.'