cartel law

This is not, after all, about cartel law, but civil law, which, like criminal law, is a preserve of Member States, something in which the European Union cannot intervene.

It is right that the provisions on cartel law in the Treaty establishing the European Communities and the essential national provisions on bargain sales should be maintained, as they protect smaller businesses against big groups of companies.

The fundamental question is as to whether citizens and businesses that have sustained damage as a result of infringements of cartel law be entitled to damages I think they should, and so does the Committee on Legal Affairs.

You cannot, however, go and create agencies where things might become difficult for you in order to evade some of the responsibility and then say, in cases where you can in fact exercise power (as with cartel law): we are doing this as the Commission!