The International Dimension of EU Competition Law and Policy (Antitrust and Competition Law)

"Modern competition law was first employed by countries over one hundred years ago in order to address issues relating to restrictions of trade at the national level. Recent international economic integration has weakened the distinction between the domestic and the international in several fields of economic activity, and consequently the laws which regulate such activity, competition law included. Several attempts to address the paradox of adopting national competition rules to address international issues have been made at the international, regional and (lately) bilateral levels. This book discusses the international dimension of EU competition law, and examines the position taken by the EU in four distinct categories of international agreements which are devoted to competition or include competition provisions. In particular, it analyses the EU's position with regard to bilateral enforcement cooperation agreements, bilateral free trade agreements, plurilateral-regional agreements and the long negotiations for the adoption of a multilateral competition regime"--Provided by publisher. Cover......Page 1 Frontmatter......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 List of Tables......Page 15 Acknowledgements......Page 16 Abbreviations......Page 18 Table of Cases......Page 20 Table of Legislation......Page 22 Table of Treaties and Agreements......Page 25 1.1 Introduction......Page 32 1.2 Structure of the book and method......Page 35 2.1 Origins of competition law......Page 38 2.2 Expansion of competition law and policy worldwide, and factors that lead to varied application of competition law at the national level......Page 46 2.3 International aspects of competition law and policy......Page 67 2.4 Conclusion......Page 81 3.1 Common characteristics of enforcement cooperation agreements......Page 83 3.2 Content of first generation agreements......Page 94 3.3 Limitations of first generation bilateral enforcement cooperation agreements......Page 108 3.4 So what's next? Wider soft law cooperation and closer bilateral cooperation......Page 114 3.5 Conclusion......Page 120 4.1 Historical review of trade agreements......Page 124 4.2 Substantive competition provisions in the EU bilateral agreements......Page 136 4.3 Provisions on cooperation in competition......Page 157 4.4 Dispute settlement and the extent to which EU bilateral agreements are considered hard law......Page 167 4.5 Conclusion......Page 170 5.1 History of plurilateral regional agreements, reasons that led to their adoption and the role of competition law and policy......Page 174 5.2 Competition law and policy in the EU......Page 187 5.3 Competition provisions in other plurilateral regional agreements......Page 202 5.4 Competition provisions in plurilateral agreements: a comparative reading......Page 219 5.5 Role of the EU in the formation and application of competition rules in regional blocs......Page 227 5.6 Conclusion......Page 230 6.1 Historical development of the negotiations on the adoption of a multilateral agreement on competition......Page 233 6.2 Factors that led to the EU proposal for inclusion of competition within the WTO framework......Page 239 6.3 Reasons that led to the failure of the EU proposal......Page 253 6.4 Future of competition at the WTO and alternative options......Page 273 6.5 Conclusion and evaluation of the role of the EU......Page 281 7.1 General observations......Page 286 7.2 Main findings of the study with regard to the operation of international agreements which are devoted to or include competition provisions......Page 288 7.3 International dimension of EU competition law and policy......Page 292 7.4 Final remarks......Page 295 Appendix 1 - Economic Theories Applied to Competition Law......Page 296 Appendix 2 - General Information about Plurilateral Regional Agreements......Page 306 Bibliography......Page 325 Index......Page 357 Introduction, structure of the book and method -- The national and international dimensions of competition law and policy -- Bilateral enforcement cooperation agreements -- Bilateral trade agreements which include competition provisions -- Plurilateral regional agreements which include competition provisions -- The role of competition law and policy of the EC in multilateral negotiations on competition -- Conclusions : main findings of the study.