Preface

Summary

According to one study in 2006, the Commission has a 98 per cent success rate in Article 82 cases, and according to another, the Commission has not lost a single Article 82 appeal on substance in twenty years. Yet Article 82, prohibiting abuse of dominance, is in a stage of flux. Perhaps this is because, as eloquently put by Franz Böhm, ‘[i]t is easier to hold a greased pig by the tail than to control a firm for abuse of a dominant position’.

The Commission's review of Article 82 has created much debate and many excellent participants have tried to find workable solutions to the conundrums raised by Article 82. This author fears the problem of Article 82 is easier to identify than to fix, but hopes it may be possible to design some sensible principles. Unlike most contemporary books on competition law which mainly accept the view that consumer welfare is the main objective of competition law, this book challenges that belief: not because it disregards the importance of consumer welfare, but because it believes the aim of Article 82 is broader than that. The book is not a detailed account of different types of abuse, but draws on case law where relevant for the conceptual discussion.

Some contemporary literature identifies the different goals of Article 82 and expands the analysis to consider the role of economics within the scope of Article 82.