Introduction
On 7 December 2023, the European Commission (Commission) adopted
guidelines on the application of an EU antitrust exemption for
sustainability agreements involving producers of agricultural
products (the Guidelines). Article 210a of Regulation (EU)
1308/2013 (CMO Regulation) exempts restrictions of
competition in agreements in the agriculture sector that are
indispensable to achieving sustainability standards higher than EU
or national mandatory standards. Article 210a was introduced in the
CMO Regulation in December 2021.
The Guidelines complement the Commission's work on the
assessment of sustainability agreements under Article 101 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), which are addressed in
guidelines on the assessment of horizontal cooperation agreements
adopted earlier this summer (the Horizontal Guidelines). A number
of other national antitrust authorities – including the
Austrian, Dutch, Japanese and UK authorities -- have been
