ABSTRACT
The aims of European Union (EU) competition law are broad, complementing those of free movement. While rules relating to free movement remove barriers to trade set up by Member States, EU competition law attempts to control the barriers to trade that may be set up by undertakings. Art 101 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits ‘all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices which may affect trade between Member States and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the internal market’. Art 101(3) TFEU provides that certain agreements, although restrictive and within the scope of Art 101(1), may nevertheless be exempt. Art 101 TFEU is subject to a de minimis rule, providing that there must be a possibility of an appreciable amount of inter-State trade being affected before an agreement can be declared void.
