Book contents
7 - The way forward
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 April 2010
Summary
This book has considered the legitimacy of consumer welfare as an objective of Article 82. It demonstrated that consumer welfare is only one amongst other relevant objectives within that provision. It suggested that consumer welfare cannot be given primacy in the hierarchy of goals in terms of excluding other goals. There are several reasons for this. Chapter 3 showed that Article 82 is not an end in itself, but rather an implementation provision of the wider Treaty goals. Article 82 must therefore be read in the context of the Treaty as a whole and cannot be narrowed down simply to focusing on consumer welfare. One of the Treaty's goals is a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted. The Community Courts have interpreted Article 82 in the light of undistorted competition since Continental Can. The Discussion Paper created a lot of ambiguity by treating consumer welfare as the main objective of Article 82, in particular because it is hard to see a concern for consumer welfare in the vast majority of cases. While many Community lawyers would readily accept, and indeed welcome, the focus on the objective of consumer welfare, this is not always supported by case law. While the Community Courts have been concerned with both direct and indirect harm to consumers, there is little discussion of the efficiencies certain conduct may bring to consumers. This is because economic freedom has been the main concern for some time.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010