BAKGRUNN (fra Kommisjonens høringsnettside)

Target group
All citizens, companies, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to this consultation.

Contributions are particularly sought from companies (including SMEs), business associations, public authorities, consumer organisations, as well as competition practitioners, researchers and think tanks. Comments from other stakeholders who have experience or knowledge of the enforcement of the EU competition rules by the national competition authorities are also welcome.

Consultation period
From 04.11.2015 until 12.02.2016

Objective of the consultation
The European Commission is consulting stakeholders on how to empower the national competition authorities (NCAs) to be more effective enforcers.

The NCAs play a key role enforcing the EU antitrust rules alongside the Commission, but there is potential for them to do much more. While EU law (Regulation 1/2003) gave NCAs the competence to apply the EU competition rules, it did not tackle the means and instruments by which NCAs apply those rules. As a result, NCAs encounter difficulties in carrying out their work and in tapping their full potential.

The Commission would like to gather views on how to ensure that NCAs:

1. can act independently when enforcing EU competition rules and have the resources and staff needed to do their work;

2. have an adequate competition toolbox to detect and tackle infringements;

3. can impose effective fines on companies which break the rules; and

4. have leniency programmes, which encourage companies to come forward with evidence of illegal cartels, that work effectively across Europe.

Stakeholders are invited to answer those parts of the questionnaire which concern them and to provide any other comments or information which they consider to be relevant.

Reference documents and other, related consultations

• Communication from the Commission - Ten Years of Antitrust Enforcement under Regulation 1/2003: Achievements and Future Perspectives (COM(2014) 453, 9.7.2014)

• Commission SWD "Enhancing competition enforcement by the Member States' competition authorities: institutional and procedural issues" accompanying the • Communication from the Commission (SWD(2014 231 final)

• Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, Report on the functioning of Regulation 1/2003 (COM(2009) 206 final, 29.4.2009)

• ECN Model Leniency Programme (MLP)