Private enforcement of EU antitrust law and its relationship with public enforcement: Past, present and future

I. Introduction 1. This article provides a short history of private enforcement of EU antitrust law and its relationship with public enforcement, from the 1957 EEC Treaty over Regulation 17 and Regulation 1/2003 until Directive 2014/104 and the current outlook. 2. EU antitrust law refers to the prohibition of cartels and other restrictive agreements and the prohibition of abuse of a dominant position contained initially in Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC), subsequently in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC) and currently in Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). [1] 3. Private enforcement refers to the use of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU in litigation