European Competition Law

6 ECTS credits
180 h study time

Offer 2 with catalog number 4017495FEW for working students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Possible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Enrollment Requirements

NOTE: registration for this course is only possible for working students. Day students can register for courses whose code ends with an R. At Inschrijven / studentenadministratie@vub.be you must be registered at the VUB as a working student for the current academic year.

Taught in

Dutch

Partnership Agreement

Under interuniversity agreement for degree program

Faculty

Faculty of Law and Criminology

Department

International and European Law

Educational team

Tony Joris (course titular)
Filip Tuytschaever

Activities and contact hours

39 contact hours Lecture
120 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

This course has, with its interactive lectures, two parts:

I. European competition law for companies (F. Tuytschaever)

This part has the following objectives:

1. To familiarize the students with the scope of articles 101-102 TFEU (also other competition regimes will be briefly mentioned).

2. To give the students insight into the EU policy on vertical agreements, as governed by Regulation (EU) 330/2010 and the accompanying Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. The different distribution models are discussed (non-exclusive, selective and exclusive distribution, franchising, agency), as well as their common features and differences. This part includes case studies. One of the case studies concerns the competition law assessment of e-commerce.

3. To give students insight into the EU policy on horizontal agreements, including both prohibited horizontal agreements (cartels) as well as horizontal agreements which must be assessed according to the Guidelines on horizontal co-operation agreements. This part includes case studies.

4. To give the students insight into the EU institutional and procedural competition law for companies, including Regulation (EC) 1/2003 and its accompanying communications.

5. To give the students insight into the interaction between EU and national (Belgian) competition law for companies.

6. To give the students insight into the public enforcement (fines and leniency) and the private enforcement of competition law for companies (damages claims), and the relationship between the two.

7. Guest lectures: possibly, guest speakers will lecture on current issues of EU competition law for companies. Recent guest lectures concerned the calculation of fines for competition law infringement, and leniency, as well as the competition law analysis of information exchanges.

8. Materials: the materials consist of a set of basic EU law texts (that may be used during the exam), up-to-date slide presentations, and recent decisions of the European Commission and/or judgments of the General Court and the Court of Justice (of the EU).

II. European competition law on State aid (T. Joris)

1. In an introduction, the following preliminary questions will be answered: why an EU State aid policy?; what role does this policy play in the internal market?; what actors play a role in the State aid policy of the EU?; ...

2. Substantive aspects of the EU State aid policy: article 107 TFEU (State aid prohibition and exemptions). The following questions will be answered: what is State aid in the meaning of article 107(1) TFEU?; which State aid will or can be exempted from the State aid prohibition (article 107(2) and (3) TFEU)?; ...

3. Procedural aspects of the EU State aid policy: article 108 TFEU; procedural Regulation 2015/1589 (implemented by Regulation 794/2004); enabling Regulation 2015/1588 (implemented by general block exemption regulations and de minimis regulations); and communications of the European Commission. The procedural rules will be illustrated with decisions of the European Commission, judgments of the General Court and the Court of Justice (of the EU), and/or national court decisions.

4. Within the framework of the European Economic Area, the unique EU State aid law was "exported" to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Also agreements between the EU and some third States contain State aid provisions. Brief attention will be given to this "internationalisation" of EU State aid law.

5. Guest lectures: possibly, guest speakers will lecture on current issues of EU competition law on State aid. Recent guest lectures focused on the private enforcement of EU State aid law.

6. Materials: the materials consist of a reader (that may be used during the exam), decisions of the European Commission and judgments of the General Court and/or the Court of Justice (of the EU).

Course material

Course text (Required) : Reader Europees mededingingsrecht inzake staatssteun, Joris, T. (ed.), Door de prof
Course text (Required) : Reader Europees mededingingsrecht voor ondernemingen, Tuytschaever, F. (ed), Door de prof
Digital course material (Required) : Slides Europees mededingingsrecht voor ondernemingen, Tuytschaever, F.

Additional info

Knowledge already acquired: objectives and working of the EU. See, for example, K. Lenaerts en P. Van Nuffel, Europees Recht, Antwerpen/Cambridge, Intersentia, 2017. Use is made of sources in Dutch, unless they are only available in English or French.

The students also gather knowledge through self study.

During the first lectures (parts I and II), the students are informed about the content and the learning outcomes of the course, and about the study materials and the exam.

Recording (audio-visual) of the lectures is not allowed.

For "evening students": at least two separate contact moments.

Because of COVID-19, in 2020-2021 all lectures (with the exception of one) were taught online (via Teams). Also a few existing recordings ("European competition law on State aid" - 2019-2020) were posted on the learning platform.

Learning Outcomes

General competencies

Part I: European competition law for companies

The overall objective of this part of the course is to give the students a frame of reference and a methodology to apply EU competition law for companies.

This overall objective encompasses the following more specific competences:

answering knowledge questions pertaining to European material, institutional and/or procedural competition law for companies;
analysing and solving case studies on the legality of horizontal and/or vertical agreements concluded between undertakings; and
being able to consult and use basic texts which are made available during the course.

Part II: European competition law on State aid

The overall objective of this part of the course is to introduce the students to the basic and some specific principles of the EU State aid policy.

This overall objective encompasses the following more specific competences:

answering knowledge questions, pertaining to the substantive, institutional and/or procedural European competition law on State aid;
analysing and solving case studies; and
being able to consult and use basic texts which are made available during the course.

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.

Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Written Exam with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 100% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

Written exam. Open (and possibly closed) questions and case studies.

During the examination, students may use the EU basic texts (part I) and the reader (part II) that are made available to them. These documents may not be written in (no own written texts/notes; see also the "aanvullend reglement m.b.t. het gebruik van hulpmiddelen tijdens examens).

Examples of exam questions (parts I and II):

what are block exemption regulations? Are the EU block exemption regulations applicable in Belgium and, if so, when?
where to find the "European convergence" rule? Explain this rule
a supplier wants to commit himself for a period of 10 years to exclusively supplying a single customer in some EU Member States. Is that legal or not under article 101 or article 102 TFEU? Motivate your answer
what demonstrates that the European Commission still plays a central role in ensuring the uniform application of articles 101 and 102 TFEU under the regime of Regulation 1/2003. Motivate your answer on the basis of the EU basic texts
two competitors want to distribute each other's products and give each other a suggested retail price to do so. Is that legal or not under article 101 or article 102 TFEU? Motivate your answer
why does the TFEU contain rules on State aid?
explain the prohibition of State aid ex article 107(1) TFEU
what are existing State aid schemes?
explain "regional and material selectivity"
explain the EU-procedure for unlawful State aid and the issue of recovery
what are the powers of national courts in case of unlawful State aid?
what mechanisms can be activated, and what are their possible outcome, if a company believes that a competitor has received unlawful State aid?

The students may, at their request (tljoris@vub.ac.be), inspect the copy of their exam paper within five calendar days after the announcement of the exam results. Within the same period, they may also ask for a clarification of their exam result (see the Teaching and examination regulations).

Because of COVID-19, a digital written examen with multiple choice questions was organised in the academic year 2020-2021. The students were not allowed to use documents during this exam.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context