3 - Objectives

Summary

Introduction

This chapter discusses what the goals of Article 82 are and why they are pursued. Understanding why an objective is pursued helps identify whether it conflicts with any other objective. Conflicts must be identified to see how the Commission balances the various interests and which of the conflicting objectives is given precedence.

The lack of clarity regarding the objectives of Article 82 has intensified the long-standing controversy regarding the proper legal standards to govern abusive conduct. Many decisions and judgments are not clear in their analysis of exclusion or in their implications. The Commission acknowledges that it needs to be better at explaining its decisions:

[T]he Commission must always work to improve its decisions and its policies. The review [of Article 82] is about a better focus and a better argumentation in future cases. Furthermore, the fact that if the discussion paper leads to a more refined economic analysis, the Commission would in future argue a case in a different way than in the past, does not mean that the decision taken in a past case was wrong, only that the argumentation would today have been different.

In the light of the Commission's policy review and its commitment to consumer welfare, some may be tempted to argue that the Commission and the Community Courts have aimed at promoting consumer welfare in previous cases decided under Article 82.