European Commission publishes findings of its evaluation of
EU competition rules on vertical agreements
On September 8, the European Commission (EC) published a Staff Working Document summarising the
findings of its evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption
Regulation (VBER) and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines
(Guidelines). The findings show that the VBER and the Guidelines
are useful tools that enable businesses to self-assess the
compliance of their vertical agreements with EU competition law.
However, the market has significantly changed since the adoption of
the VBER and the Guidelines in 2010, notably with the growth of
online sales, the expanded role of online platforms and the changes
in distribution models. As a result, the EC's evaluation
identified a number of issues with the VBER and the Guidelines that
need to be addressed. Below we summarise the main issues identified
and the likely priority areas for the EC as it begins the next
phase of its review.
