December 20, 2020 by MMinspect
Vertical agreements are widely accepted because they are less likely to solve competition problems than horizontal agreements. Horizontal agreements are concluded between two current or potential competitors. Even in cases where a category exemption does not apply, a vertical agreement may continue to benefit from an individual exemption. The parties are authorized to conduct a self-assessment to determine whether the restrictive vertical competition agreement meets the requirements for the individual exemption. Like the EU competition regime, the conditions for individual exemption are: (i) the agreement must contribute to improving the production or distribution of products or to promoting technical or economic progress; (ii) it must give consumers an appropriate share of the resulting benefit; (iii) it should not impose restrictions on the companies concerned that are not necessary to achieve these objectives; and (iv) it should not allow the parties to eliminate competition on a substantial portion of the products concerned. This is not an alternative test and all individual exemption requirements must be met. A vertical agreement is a term used in competition law to refer to agreements between companies operating at different levels of the production and distribution chain (for example). B relationships between producers and their customers/distributors). The regulation applies to all vertical restrictions that are not the ones mentioned above. However, Regulation (EC) 330/2010 [4] exempts vertical agreements from the prohibition in Article 101, paragraph 1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which meets the conditions of the exemption and do not contain “characterized restrictions” of competition.
The main exception concerns vehicle distribution agreements which, until 31 May 2013, are subject to a three-year extension of the Council`s Regulation (EC) (EC) No. 461/2010 (Regulation (EC) No. 1400/2002 [5]. [6] Although the latter regulation applies Regulation (EC) No. 330/2010 to motor vehicle repair and spare parts distribution agreements effective June 1, 2013, it adds three additional “hardcore” clauses to Regulation 330. However, vertical agreements can present competitive risks if .B possibility of increasing barriers to entry, reducing or easing competition and other opportunities where agreements are facilitated. [2] Article 101, paragraph 1, of the EUTF prohibits agreements between companies with the purpose or effect of restricting, preventing or distorting competition within the Union and affecting trade between EU Member States.
