A 'Tunney Act for Europe'? Settlement and the Re-Judicialisation of European Commission Competition Enforcement

摘要

1. The use of settlement mechanisms, administered under both Arts.7 and 9 of Regulation 1/2003, has become one of the most common features of European Commission enforcement activity in recent years. 2. While settlement in itself is unproblematic, one notable result has been a 'de-judicialisation' of EU-level enforcement, whereby such cases are shielded from subsequent review by the Union Courts. This has two potential downsides: a precedent problem, and a legitimacy problem. 3. In order to address these concerns while continuing to reap some of the benefits of settlement, this article proposes to give the Court of Justice a greater role in overseeing the Commission's settlement practice, through a judicial pre-approval procedure that might be described as a 'Tunney Act for Europe'.