Modernising European Competition Law: A Developmental Perspective

The European Commission’s proposals to “modernise” the European competition law system are of central importance for the future of European integration, not only because competition law plays a role in the legal framework of integration, but also because the proposals are often viewed as a test case for future reform efforts in Europe.European competition law experience is critically important for both evaluating and implementing the proposals. A developmental perspective uses that experience to reveal structures and forces operating on and within the system and to provide guidelines for implementing changes in it. My main objective in this essay is to view the proposals from such a perspective — to refract the current situation through the accumulated European experience of using law to protect competition.