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ARTICLE · 04 MAY 2020

EU-Antitrust Law Framework Relating To The COVID-19 Crisis

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
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Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

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On April 8, 2020, the European Commission published a Communication setting out a temporary framework for assessing antitrust issues related to business cooperation in response to situations of urgency...

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Marco Plankensteiner
Marco Plankensteiner
Pauline Dessèvre
Pauline Dessèvre
Mathilde Vergnaud
Mathilde Vergnaud
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European Commission publishes a temporary Framework for undertakings collaborating to address the shortage of essential products and services.

On April 8, 2020, the European Commission published a Communication setting out a temporary framework for assessing antitrust issues related to business cooperation in response to situations of urgency stemming from the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Usually, business cooperation which aims at allocating production or exchanging sensitive information is considered as anticompetitive.

However, the European Commission acknowledges that the COVID-19 outbreak has severely disrupted supply chains, leading to "an asymmetric demand shock caused by either an abrupt decline in consumer demand for certain products and services or a steep rise in demand for other products and services" (paragraph 2).

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