EU mulls easier antitrust lawsuits for consumers, businesses[fr][de] 

Existing EU laws already provide guarantees for legal redress to victims of antitrust violations, such as abuses of dominant market positions and price-fixing to the detriment of consumers and competing businesses. 

But "to date, in practice victims of EC antitrust infringements only rarely obtain reparation of the harm suffered," according to a Commission White Paper published in Brussels on 3 April.

The White Paper cites legal uncertainty at national level which prevents claimants from enjoying the rights bestowed upon them under Community law. It also laments the "frequent inaccessibility and concealment of crucial evidence in the hands of defendants and the often unfavourable risk/reward balance for claimants".

In order to address the situation, the Commission suggests small businesses and individual consumers should be able to engage in 'collective redress'. This would make it easier for small claimants to take action, by allowing a large number of small claims to be bundled and brought to court by a third-party representative, such as a recognised consumer organisation. 

However, to avoid what EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes terms "the potential excesses of the US system," such collective redress could not take the form of class-action lawsuits by individual law firms.

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva has also spoken out against the use of class-action lawsuits - viewed by many Europeans as aggressive and unscrupulous - as part of her plan to strengthen consumer rights (EurActiv 10/09/07 and 12/11/07).

Kroes is also suggesting that national courts should have more powers to force defendants to disclose evidence. Moreover, when compensation is made, victims should receive single rather than multiple payments, according to the Commission. This would force guilty antitrust violators to pay claimants in full (including interest) for damages incurred, but it would also mean they are not obliged to pay punitive sums in excess of actual losses incurred by the victim. 

BEUC, the European Consumers' Organisation, welcomed the White Paper as a step in the right direction, following "what seems like an eternity" of claims made by EU authorities regarding the benefits of EU competition policy. According to BEUC, these have, up till now, been "purely theoretical".

The group also hopes that "that this will just be the beginning of a wider reflection at European level, which would pave the way for the principle of collective redress for
consumers to be extended," it said in a press statement.

The publication of the White Paper launches a publication consultation that runs until July, after which the Commission will propose specific measures.