"Conflicting objectives and contending interests in European competition policy"

Kempton, Jeremy and Young, Alasdair. (1997) "Conflicting objectives and contending interests in European competition policy". In: UNSPECIFIED, Seattle, WA. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

As a horizontal policy, competition policy has implications for most European Community (EC) policies, and other policies often affect competition. Not surprisingly, given their different priorities and processes, these policy objectives may come into conflict. Resolving such conflicts would require decisions about priorities and would have significant implications for different interests. We seek to analyse the EC’s capacity for resolving policy conflicts and aggregating contending interests by exploring two cases: the role of the ‘Community Interest’ in anti-dumping cases, and the Commission’s 1995 decision to renew the block exemption from competition rules for motor vehicle distribution. We first consider how the increasing importance being given to the ‘Community Interest’ clause is affecting anti-dumping decisions, before turning to the politics behind the decision to renew the block exemption, and drawing some conclusions regarding the EC’s capacity to tackle thorny issues with apparently inadequate instruments.

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