The New Directive on Unfair Trading Practices in Food and EU Competition Law: Complementary or Divergent Normative Frameworks?

摘要

Key Points 1. There is an overlap between the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive and EU competition law to the extent that unfair trading practices can have exclusionary effects and to the extent that exploitative abuses are also regulated in EU competition law. 2. EU competition law has a sophisticated framework for assessing vertical restraints; the UTP Directive is less precise but promises to strengthen enforcement. 3. The UTP Directive raises important questions with respect to procedural and substantive justice in the context of power imbalances but it does not provide the analytical tools for an assessment of fairness; this is where competition law can be of help.