EU Competition Law Amendments to Procedural Rules
On November 2014, the Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on certain rules governing
actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of
the European Union was adopted, having the aim to ensure that victims of antitrust violations can effectively claim any
damages they suffered and to optimize the interrelation between private and public enforcement by the Commission and
the national competition authorities. In order to promote the achievement of the abovementioned objectives and, at the
same time, protect its institutional role in the implementation and public enforcement of the Union antitrust legislation on
an EU level, the Commission adapted by means of the Regulation (EU) No 2015/1348 the provisions of Regulation (EC)
No 773/2004 of 4 April 2004 relating to the conduct of proceedings by the Commission and also endorsed amendments
to four relevant Notices.
With respect to the amendments on Regulation (EC) No 773/2004, a new Article 4a was inserted concerning the
Commission’s Leniency Programme, according to which the Commission is entitled to set the requirements and
cooperation conditions, under which it may reward undertakings that are or have been party to secret cartels, for their
cooperation in disclosing the cartel and facilitating the establishment of the infringement, with immunity from fines (to the
undertaking that is the first to submit evidence, which would enable the Commission to find the infringement) or with a
reduction in fines (to undertakings which provide the Commission with evidence of the alleged infringement, provided
this evidence have a significant added value with respect to the evidence already in the Commission’s possession). In
order for an undertaking to benefit from the above rewards, they shall provide the Commission with voluntary
presentation of their knowledge of a secret cartel and their role therein, either in written or in oral form, which are also
known as “leniency corporate statements”.
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