What does European Union law say about exempting liner shipping consortia from EU antitrust rules that prohibit anticompetitive agreements between companies? This is known as the “Consortia Block Exemption Regulation” and the European Commission wants to know.
Brussels announced on September 27 that it is inviting comments on the legal framework.
According to a Commission press release, container shipping organised on the basis of liner consortia accounts for most of non-bulk freight carried by sea to and from Europe. Competitive shipping services are therefore essential for the EU’s economy.
EU law generally bans agreements between companies that restrict competition. However, the maritime Consortia Block Exemption Regulation allows, under certain conditions, shipping lines with a combined market share of below 30% to enter into cooperation agreements to provide joint cargo transport services (known as “consortia”).
Where such consortia face sufficient competition, where they are not used to fix prices nor share the market, their users may benefit from improvements in productivity and service quality. They are therefore exempted from the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements in Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The Consortia Block Exemption Regulation will expire on 25 April 2020. The Commission has therefore launched a consultation seeking to collect views from stakeholders to assist the Commission’s assessment of the impact and relevance of the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation, and to provide evidence for determining whether it should be left to expire or prolonged, and if so, under which conditions.
