Memo: Antitrust: Commission welcomes Court ruling in Irish beef case

The European Commission welcomed the preliminary ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Irish beef case (Case C-209/07). The ECJ concluded that the scheme of the Beef Industry Development Society under which some beef processors undertook to leave the processing industry amounts to a restriction of competition by object and is therefore not compatible with EC Treaty rules prohibiting agreements and restrictive business practices (Article 81(1)). The ECJ ruling is important because it confirms that agreements between competitors to restrict capacity or production are hardcore restrictions of competition which very often harm consumers.