Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2019
In recent years, several European antitrust authorities intervened in the wine sector to authorize mergers and acquisitions, provide opinions to governments, and ascertain anticompetitive agreements. This article analyzes these interventions in the context of an evolving regulatory framework. I draw conclusions about the direction of competition policy, in particular in relation to possible co-operations among various players in the wine industry. (JEL Classifications: K21, L40, L51)
The author thanks Karl Storchmann, an anonymous reviewer, Luca Arnaudo, Antonio Buttà, Salvatore Lamarca, Giulia Meloni, David Menival, and attendees at the 25th Annual European Association of Wine Economists (EuAWE) Conference in Dijon, France, for their helpful comments. This article is dedicated to Gabriella and Alessandro and their love for Villa de Toffoli in Soligo. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato.