POSSIBILITY TO RECEIVE FULL COMPENSATION FOR DAMAGES SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF ANTITRUST VIOLATIONS COMES CLOSER

On December 2, the European Union (EU) Competitiveness Council reached a general approach on a draft directive on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the EU (the Directive).

The aforementioned Directive would establish common and simplified antitrust damages rules, according to which, the victims of antitrust violations could receive full compensation for the damages they had suffered.

“The major goal sought by the Presidency in the area of competition was to agree on a compromise text of the draft directive on actions for damages.  We are happy to have reached an agreement among all the Member states before the end of the Lithuanian Presidency.

We believe that this Directive will encourage all European companies to operate more fairly. The Directive stipulates that consumers, companies or competitors of the infringer may suffer damages caused due to the breaches of antitrust law and establishes a mechanism for compensation of damages”, - says Šarūnas Keserauskas, the Chairperson of the Competition Council.

Dina Lurje, the official of the Competition Council of Lithuania chaired the Working Party on Competition where the aforementioned agreement was reached. The Working Party also included representatives from the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy as well as their counterparts from all Member states. This Directive will come in force once approved by the European Parliament, hopefully, in the first half of 2014.