National competition authorities also apply and enforce Art. 101 TFEU.

A. The role Reg. 1/2003 plays for competition authorities in Member States

1

Art 3 para. 1 of Regulation 1/2003 has enforced an obligation on the Member States’ national competition authorities to apply Art. 101 and 102 TFEU parallel to their national competition rules. The meaning of this obligation is that national provisions have to comply with the EU interpretations of Art. 101 and 102 TFEU when they are applied parallel to their national rules.

As a result of this decentralization process of European competition law, the national competition authorities and the national courts play an increasingly significant role in the implementation and enforcement of the European Union competition rules. The Commission together with the national competition authorities creates a network of competition authorities which is authorized to ‘detect and punish violations of Art. 101 and 102 TFEU. Notwithstanding  the role of the Commission stays crucial. In particular the Commission informs the parties how the European Union’s rules must be applied and how this decentralization system of European competition law must be progressed through the stages imposed by the Regulation 1/2003. 

2

Regulation 1/2003 delegates executive competence to the national competition authorities and the national courts and forms a system of parallel application of EU and national competition law. This enforcement system contributes to the  Europeanization of competition laws through cooperation between the European Commission and the national competition authorities . The European competition rules became directly applicable in the whole Union. Thus the full cooperation between the Commission and the national authorities of the Member States is not only required but imperative. The interaction between the European Commission and the national competition authorities is required by Article 11 of Regulation 1/2003. The NCAs and the Commission form a network of public authorities cooperating closely together.

B. Degree of harmonization

3

The entry into force of Regulation 1/2003 has brought forth the harmonization of the procedural rules on behalf of the Member States dedicated to the implementation of Art. 101 and 102 TFEU.

The European Competition Network (ECN) seems to be steered from the center by the Commission, establishing the EU rules as the benchmark for harmonization. While the Commission is seemingly decentralizing enforcement powers, in fact it has retained a central policy-making role but without any control mechanism. 

C. Conclusion

4

The European Competition Network (ECN) is a unique forum for policy discussions and comparative work among the National Competition Authorities . It has a great potential to serve as the platform for exchanging alternative legal solutions of the national competition law laboratories and as a melting pot for harmonization.

The comparison of national laws is managed and steered by the Commission and takes place on the basis of the benchmark provided by the EU rules.

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