European Competition Law provides a wide-ranging review of the European rules relating to competition: restrictive agreements, abuse of a dominant position, impact of intellectual property rights, procedure, merger control, State aid.

European Competition Law

Article 3 of Regulation No 1/2003 lays down the principle according to which application of national competition law may not lead to the prohibition of agreements, decisions by associations of undertakings or concerted practices which may affect trade between Member States but which do not restrict competition within the meaning of Article 101(1) TFEU, or which fulfill the conditions of Article 101(3) TFEU or which are covered by a regulation for the application of Article 101(3) TFEU. Parallel application of national competition law to agreements, decisions and concerted practices affecting trade between Member States may not lead to a different outcome from that of EU competition law . On the other hand, agreements, decisions and concerted practices which infringe Article 101(1) and do not satisfy the conditions set out in Article 101(3) TFEU cannot be upheld by virtue of that rule . Consequently, where a national court finds that a regulation setting minimum amounts for lawyers' fees, made compulsory by national legislation, is contrary to Article 101(1) TFEU, it is bound to refuse to apply it in respect of a party ordered to pay costs corresponding to lawyers' fees, even where that party is a third party to the contract with a lawyer and even if the minimum amounts provided for by that regulation reflect actual market prices for lawyers' services . In the case of unilateral conduct, Article 3 of the regulation does not impose a similar convergence obligation on the national court.

When EU and national law contain conflicting provisions, the general principle of the precedence of EU law requires that the national courts disapply any provision of national law contrary to the EU rules, regardless of whether the national law was enacted before or after the EU rule .

See also Commission Notice No 2004/C 101/04 of 27 April 2004, on the application of Article 81(3) EC.

See Case 14/68 Walt Wilhelm and others v Bundeskartellamt [1969] ECR 1, LawLex200400002688JBJ; Case 253/78 Procureur de la République v Giry and Guerlain [1980] ECR 2327, LawLex200500004054JBJ.

CJEU, 25 January 2024, Em akaunt BG ЕООD, Case C-438/22, LawLex202400005917JBJ.

See Case C-198/01 CIF [2003] ECR I-8055, LawLex200500004590JBJ.

183. Application of domestic law