What is block exemption regulation?

Question

I can not find a definition... I m translating some EU act, so it has to do with EU regulations. Thanks

Answer 1

A block exemption Regulation is a measure under EU law (of which there are essentially 4 different types) that grants an exemption from the application of some of the EU antitrust laws (Article 81 EC Treaty to be precise) to some categories of industry-specific or certain categories of legal agreements that meet the conditions set out in the terms of the applicable block exemption regulation.

The net effect is that commercial agreements (ex. distribution agreements for motor vehicles) that meet the conditions set out in the relevant block exemption regulation are considered either not to adversely affect competition on the relevant European market(s) or only to affect competition to a limited degree.

Further information and a list of the currently applicable block exemption regulations can be found on the website of the European Commission's department responsible for devising and enforcing EU competition laws in Brussels (DG Competition) http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/ant...

Hope that this helps

Simon CFM