Restricting the powers of the European Commission and national competition authorities to enforce european antitrust prohibitions in the light of the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the EU

Abstract

This paper explores the complex interaction between the EU competition law and the system of protection of fundamental rights and freedoms established in the Union. A special focus is done on the constraints on competition law enforcement (at Union and national level) in the context of the procedural rights and safeguards, guaranteed to the undertakings by the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the European Convention of Human Rights and the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Nowadays, this subject is even more relevant in the light of recent legal amendments and the adoption of the new Directive 2019/1 of Council and Parliament on harmonization of some aspects of national procedural rules, aimed to increase the effectiveness of the prohibitions under Art. 101 and Art. 102 TFEU.