Press Release: Antitrust: Commission opens consultations on review of block exemption for liner shipping consortia

The European Commission opened consultations on a draft Regulation revising the exemption that liner shipping consortia currently enjoy from the EC Treaty's ban on restrictive business practices (Article 81). The consortia block exemption Regulation 823/2000 allows shipping lines to enter into cooperation for the purpose of providing a joint service (so-called 'consortia'). The new draft Regulation proposed to continue to allow for such co-operation within a new legislative and economic environment. Interested parties were invited to make their views known in the public consultation before 21st November 2008. The Commission will then consult Member States in 2009 before adopting the final block exemption Regulation in good time before the current Regulation expires in April 2010.

European Commission: MEMO/08/644: Antitrust: revision of the liner shipping consortia block exemption Regulation - frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/644&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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