Enforcement of European competition law

Council Regulation (EC) 1/2003 has led to the decentralization of the enforcement of competition law, thereby increasing the powers of national competition authorities (NCA’s) and national courts with regard to articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Decentralization carries with it the risk of divergence which, given the Union’s aim and goals, is highly undesirable.

In order to ensure and promote the consistent and uniform application of competition rules, the European Commission can use the tools provided for by Regulation 1/2003, one of which is the ability of the Commission to act as amicus curiae in national antitrust proceedings under article 15. This possibly has implications for the independence and the autonomy of national courts.