European Union Approves Directive On Antitrust Damages Actions

Earlier today, the Council of the European Union approved the long-awaited Directive governing actions for damages for infringements of competition rules (Damages Directive). The Damages Directive is based on a proposal by the European Commission (Commission) that followed more than ten years of intense debate in the EU on whether it should have a common framework for antitrust damages actions, and if so what this framework should be.

Main provisions

The Damages Directive is meant to ensure that anyone can claim compensation before the national courts in the EU for any harm caused by an infringement of competition law. As many competition law infringements have cross-border effects across the EU, the Damages Directive stresses the need to ensure a level playing field for damages actions across the EU. To achieve this aim, the Damages Directive establishes certain minimum requirements the member states have to implement in order to ensure the effective exercise of