Changing Views of Competition, Economic Analysis and Ec Antitrust Law

"The paper is organised as follows: in the next section I summarise how economic views of competition have evolved over time. I note that different views of competition imply a different role for antitrust law, which in turn affects the criteria according to which the law is applied. Since these developments first affected the application of antitrust law in the US, I briefly review the US experience. I then make a critical evaluation of the changes in the paradigm of antitrust analysis relating to the wider use of economics. In second C I review the developments in the application of EC competition law in the past few decades. First, I examine how a specific view of the role of competition in the legal order has influenced the shape and application of EC competition law. I then review the changes that have taken place over time in such an application, aimed at introducing an economic and effect-based approach, and discuss whether these changes are compatible with the traditional orientation of EC antitrust law. Finally, in section D I analyse the new approach adopted by the Commission, based on the effects of restrictive practices on consumer welfare and efficiency, and discuss its implications on the debate on the role of competition in the EU legal order which was opened by the 2007 Lisbon Intergovernmental Conference."