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ARTICLE · 20 DECEMBER 2010

The European Commission's new Guidelines on Horizontal Agreements

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14 December 2010 saw the publication of three key documents relating to the application of the EU rules on anti-competitive agreements to the field of competitor co-operation.

United KingdomAntitrust/Competition Law
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Article by Gillian Sproul , Nathalie Jalabert Doury , Jens Peter Schmidt and Kiran S. Desai

Originally published 17 December 2010

Keywords: European Commission, new guidelines, horizontal agreements, anti-competitive agreements

14 December 2010 saw the publication of three key documents relating to the application of the EU rules on anti-competitive agreements to the field of competitor co-operation.

The European Commission (the "Commission") adopted:

  • revised guidelines on the assessment of horizontal co-operation (the "Guidelines"), and
  • new block exemption regulations in the areas of:
    • research and development ("R&D") and
    • specialisation in production ("Specialisation").

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