Antitrust Damages Actions/Quantification of harm

Key points

The EESC:

• welcomes the Commission's proposal to facilitate access to justice and enable victims to obtain compensation;
• approves provisions to allow proportionate access, under judicial supervision, to the information that is relevant and necessary for the action;
• supports leniency programmes which make it possible to identify numerous infringements, though it considers that the proposal offers too much protection to undertakings benefiting from those programmes, to the detriment of the victims;
• supports provision aimed at ensuring that once a ruling issued by a national competition authority or appeal body has become definitive it cannot be called into question by the courts dealing with the action for damages;
• approves proposals on the beginning of the period of limitation and the provisions on the suspension of deadlines when cases are referred to the national competition authority;
• agrees with the Commission's assessment of how useful it might be to have out-of-court settlements, providing that they are well formulated, independent and remain optional;
• regrets that the introduction of a class action in competition matters, which should have been an effective mechanism for consumers, has been left out and included only in a non-binding recommendation.

The Opinion INT/706-707 also deals with the Communication from the Commission on quantifying harm in actions for damages (C(2013) 3440)

Related EESC Opinions:

• Opinion on the Green Paper on damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules
  (CESE 1349/2006, INT/306)
• Opinion on the White paper on damages actions for breach of the EC antitrust rules
  (CESE 611/2009, INT/429)