The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive on how citizens and companies can claim damages when they are victims of infringements of the EU antitrust rules, such as cartels and abuses of a dominant market position. The proposal is set to remove a number of practical difficulties which victims frequently face when they try to receive a fair compensation for the damage they have suffered.
The proposal sets out a number of measures to facilitate damages actions. The proposal reserves a key role for competition authorities (at EU or Member State level) to investigate, find and sanction infringements. Contrary to the US system, the proposal does not seek to leave the punishment and deterrence to private litigation. Rather, its main objective is to facilitate full and fair compensation for victims once a public authority has found and sanctioned an infringement.
The proposal contains a number of safeguards to ensure that facilitating damages actions does not diminish the incentives for companies to cooperate with competition authorities under the so-called "leniency" programmes. Under the proposed reforms, leniency and immunity applications and settlement submissions would not be shared with claimants.
The text of the proposal for a Directive adopted by the European Commission and all other relevant documents are available here. The proposal for a Directive will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council according to the ordinary legislative procedure. Once it has been adopted by these institutions, the bloc's 27 Member States will have two years to implement the provisions in their legal systems.
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