The new EC vertical restraint block exemption

2002 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Valentine Korah
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-383
Author(s):  
Václav Šmejkal

Abstract Distribution cartels in the automotive sector used to be frequently dismantled and sanctioned by the European Commission and the EU Courts still some 15 years ago. In recent years, however, only a few cases have been reported at the national level of EU Member States. Is it because the distribution of new cars really ceased to be a competition problem as the European Commission declared when it removed this part of the automotive business from the specific Block Exemption Regulation for the automotive sector in 2010? The purpose of the present analysis is first to inspect the car distribution cases that emerged in the EU after the year 2000 and, second, to speculate somewhat whether new forms of distribution, brought by the digitalization of marketing and sales, cannot bring about also new risks to cartel agreements and other types of distortions of competition in car sales.


Author(s):  
Kreuschitz Viktor ◽  
Nehl Hanns Peter

This chapter explores the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). Article 108(4) TFEU allows the Commission to issue a regulation exempting Member States from the notification obligation as regards certain categories of aid, provided certain conditions are respected. The Council determines these categories in advance by means of a Regulation adopted on the basis of Article 109 TFEU. In 2008 the Commission adopted the GBER and repealed the previous regulations. In the GBER, the Commission exempted from the notification obligation seven categories of aid, by laying down general and specific compatibility conditions for aid regarding regional development, SMEs, risk capital, research and development, environmental aid, disadvantaged and disabled workers, and training.


Author(s):  
Wijckmans Frank ◽  
Tuytschaever Filip

This chapter addresses the hardcore restrictions which are included in Article 4 of Regulation 330/2010. Once it has been established that a vertical agreement falls within the scope of application of Regulation 330/2010, complies with the limitations included in Article 2(2)–(5), and does not exceed the market share limits, the next step is to check whether it contains any hardcore restrictions. This assessment constitutes the eleventh step of the analysis.The hardcore restrictions consist of RPM and certain territorial and customer restrictions. For the purposes of Regulation 330/2010, the list of hardcore restrictions in Article 4 is exhaustive. The inclusion of a hardcore restriction renders the block exemption inapplicable to the vertical agreement as a whole. In addition, the Vertical Guidelines provide for a rebuttable presumption that a hardcore restriction will fail to meet the conditions of Article 101(3) TFEU on an individual basis (self-assessment).


Author(s):  
Wijckmans Frank ◽  
Tuytschaever Filip

This chapter addresses the specific block exemption regime that applies to the automotive industry. The relevant regime is contained in Regulation 461/2010. Different from past practice, Regulation 461/2010 closely resembles the general block exemption (Regulation 330/2010) and limits itself to adding certain hardcore restrictions applicable in the secondary markets. The chapter provides an overview of the impact of the block exemption from the perspective of the various stakeholders active in the sector. It then goes on to describe separately the block exemption principles governing the distribution of motor vehicles, the provision of after-sales services, and the distribution of spare parts.


Author(s):  
Alison Jones ◽  
Brenda Sufrin ◽  
Niamh Dunne

This chapter discusses EU competition policy towards horizontal cooperation agreements. It covers joint ventures; the contents of the 2010 Guidelines; the general approach to horizontal cooperation agreements in the Guidelines; information agreements; research and development agreements, including the block emption, Regulation 1217/2010; production agreements, including the block exemption on specialisation agreements, Regulation 1218/2010 ; purchasing agreements; commercialisation agreements; standardisation agreements; and agreements in particular sectors, such as the joint buying or selling of media rights to sports events.


Author(s):  
Derek J. Clark ◽  
Anita Michalsen ◽  
Leif Roger Olsen
Keyword(s):  

SPE Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (01) ◽  
pp. 184-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Atefi Monfared ◽  
L.. Rothenburg

Summary This paper presents a new poroelastic solution to describe the time-dependent response of a confined geological reservoir to fluid injection through a fully penetrating vertical well treated as a point source. Unlike previous studies, vertical-confinement effects of seal rocks are incorporated in the solution. To facilitate analytical description of a fully coupled poroelastic behavior within the reservoir, the stiffness of surrounding rocks is described by the Winkler model, simplifying the response of seal rocks in the direction perpendicular to the reservoir plane. Analytical expressions are obtained for axisymmetric stress and strain components in the reservoir and for the vertical reaction stress. The latter is essential for evaluation of integrity of seal rocks during injection. Solutions are also obtained for the magnitude and location of the maximum-induced radial displacement as a function of time during injection. The effects of poroelastic coupling are articulated through the equivalent diffusion constant of the reservoir-seal rocks system. The latter is expressed through traditional poroelastic parameters as well as the relative stiffness of reservoir and seal rocks. The Winkler modulus of seal rocks, which is involved in all analytical relationships presented in this paper, is empirically linked to elastic characteristics of surrounding strata by comparing their response with the same pressure change in the reservoir according to the ideally elastic and Winkler models. The derived solutions are compared with previous studies, and verified against fully coupled numerical simulations. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis is conducted to assess the effects of the stiffness of the confining strata on the response of a uniform reservoir to injection. The vertical component of stress and the radial and vertical displacements are found to be substantially sensitive to the magnitude of the vertical restraint. The findings note the significance of incorporating seal-rock characteristics to attain a realistic assessment of the geomechanics of injection, specifically in formations with lower elastic moduli.


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