Antitrust
Actions for Damages > Key documents
Follow-up to the White Paper and Green Paper on antitrust damages actions
The Commission Work Programme 2012 includes a legislative initiative on actions for damages for breaches of antitrust law. This initiative will have two main objectives:
- to ensure effective damages actions before national courts for breaches of EU antitrust rules; and
- to clarify the interrelation of such private actions with public enforcement by the Commission and the National Competition Authorities, notably as regards the protection of leniency programmes, in order to preserve the central role of public enforcement in the EU.
As to the second objective, the Heads of the European Competition Authorities issued a Resolution on the protection of leniency material in the context of civil damages actions (23 May 2012)  .
This topic has also been touched upon by Vice-President Almunia and Director-General Italianer in their speeches of 22 November 2011, 17 February, 14 March and 8 June 2012.
White Paper
On 2 April 2008 the Commission adopted a White Paper on Damages Actions for Breach of the EC antitrust rules. The White Paper suggested specific policy measures so that all victims of EU antitrust infringements could effectively access redress mechanisms in order to be fully compensated for the harm they had suffered.
1) Documents
2) Comments received
- The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 26 March 2009 and the European Economic and Social Committee an opinion on 25 March 2009.
- The European Consumer Consultative Group (ECCG) adopted an opinion on 23 November 2010.
- See also the contributions received during the public consultation
Green Paper
The White Paper was preceded by a Green Paper which was published in 2005. This had identified the main obstacles to a more efficient system for bringing damages claims for infringement of EU antitrust law, and had already proposed measures encouraging the right to compensation by victims of infringements of the EU antitrust rules.
1) Documents
2) Comments received
- The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 25 April 2007 and the European Economic and Social Committee an opinion on 26 October 2006
- See also the contributions received during the public consultation on the Green Paper
|
