Joaquín Almunia (European Commission): The last interview

1. One of the greatest successes of your mandate has been the adoption of the antitrust damage directive, which you expect will extend access to justice to claim compensation for such damages to SMEs and individual consumers, two categories of potential plaintiffs that are typically attracted by follow-on actions — as opposed to standalone actions, for which they lack resources (other than in the framework of collective redress mechanisms). Is the objective of promoting private enforcement not contradicted by the Commission’s current policy of closing most non-cartel cases by accepting binding commitments, as opposed to carrying out a full investigation and possibly adopting a final decision finding an infringement, which potential plaintiffs may then use in court in support of their