by Kevin Coates | Jul 5, 2016 | Cartels, Commentary, Fines
Summary The short version of this very long post is that the Commission’s current policy of applying the concept of recidivism to the highest level parent that exercises decisive influence over the infringing company appears to unduly punish undertakings that...
by Kevin Coates | Apr 15, 2015 | Cartels, Fines, General
Do the fining rules treat small companies badly? This is an occasional criticism of the 2006 Guidelines on Fines. Is it accurate? Let’s take an intentionally simplified example. Nine companies each have value of sales of 10m euros per year in a product which...
by Kevin Coates | Apr 17, 2014 | Antitrust, Cartels, Commentary
I have two speaking engagements in April, both on cartels. The first is for the American Bar Association: Slicing the Pie: Defining the Scope of an International Cartel: April 28, 2014 12:00PM to 1:30PM (EST) / 6:00PM to 7:30PM (CET) The second is at the IBC Advanced...
by Kevin Coates | Jan 27, 2014 | Antitrust, Cartels, Featured, Fines
The European Commission’s positions on inability to pay competition fines, and on the failing firm defence under the merger regulation are superficially different, but the underlying policy concern is the same. The Commission’s 2006 Fining Guidelines...
by Kevin Coates | Jan 13, 2014 | Antitrust, Cartels, Featured
Two years ago I wrote a short article (which I recently republished here) on why reducing competition fines because a company had a compliance policy would be a mistake. Since then, I’ve changed my mind. But only on the reasoning, not the result. At least for now. And...
by Kevin Coates | Oct 2, 2013 | Cartels, General
Two excellent colleagues – one of whom is DG Competition’s Settlement Officer – have written an overview of the current state of settlement practice for cartel cases. Abstract: Since 2008, six cartel settlements have been concluded successfully In...
