A question of priorities

The European Commission’s new guidance on article 82 is flawed

by John Temple Lang*

The Commission has now published its guidance on its enforcement priorities in applying article 82 to exclusionary abuses. The new document is better than the discussion paper published by the Commission in 2005, which received a large number of comments, and for that reason should be welcomed. The new document is more moderate, more orthodox, and less regulatory than the discussion paper. The document is also better and more sound economics than the existing case law, at least as that case law is generally understood. However, the new document is unsatisfactory for two important reasons.