The European Court of Justice decides that competition law does not apply to arrangements among freelance substitute orchestra musicians that aim at improving their working conditions if these musicians can be qualified as ‘workers’ (Kunsten Informatie en Media)

Albany revisited: the Court directs NCA to carry a more social tune* In C-413/13 FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media, the Court decided that competition law does not apply to arrangements among freelance substitute orchestra musicians that aim to improving their working conditions. In so doing, the Court significantly expanded the scope for taking social interests into account within competition law analysis and rejected the more narrow and liberal approach taken by the Dutch National Competition Authority (NCA), the Dutch government and—not surprisingly—the European Commission. This is a significant case, not only because the Court for the first time had to deal with the increasingly more common phenomenon of the ‘false self-employed’ when interpreting competition law, but also because the