Proposals for the European Union’s antitrust rules, which encourage private damages claims, would bring dramatic change if implemented

The European Commission (EC) is keen to encourage the ‘private enforcement’ of antitrust law, since it recognises that enforcement cannot be carried out by competition authorities alone. To date, there have been very few private damages claims in the European Union (EU), even in England where the law is comparatively well-developed. The EC expects damages claims to play an important role in enforcement going forward. The Green Paper considers how to encourage more private damages claims, identifying the perceived obstacles and proposing a range of policy options designed to overcome them.