The European Commission issues new best practice guidelines on antitrust proceedings

The European Commission published on 17 October 2011 its new guidelines for best practices during antitrust procedures. The guidelines cover the main proceedings concerning alleged infringements of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (cartel investigations and abuse of dominance). They explain the investigation phase up to the statement of objections (SO), the procedure after the SO, the commitment procedures and the procedure for the rejection of complaints, as well as some technical points concerning the adoption, notification and publication of decisions. The new guidelines apply to future cases but also to all pending cases where procedural steps still have to be taken. The stated objective of the new guidelines is to increase transparency of