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Competition Law

Objectives

The seminar aims to provide the student with a case law and interdisciplinary approach to the basic rules of European competition law, which include competition rules addressed to undertakings (Arts. 101 and 102 TFEU), competition rules addressed to the State (Art. 106 TFEU), merger control (Reg. 139/2004) and State aid (Art. 107 TFEU).


General characterization

Code

33108

Credits

6

Responsible teacher

Lúcio Tomé Feteira

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - 0

Teaching language

Available soon

Prerequisites

Not Applicable

Bibliography

Not Applicable

Teaching method

Lectures involving the participation of students through the discussion of previously assigned cases.


Evaluation method

Final written exam (50%) combined with the outcome of the student's presentation in class (50%).


Subject matter


  1. Introduction

  2. Some basic notions: competition and competition law; competition law v regulation; the different layers of competition law; competition policy and its goals

  3. Basic microeconomic tools: utility, marginal cost and welfare; elastiticity; scale and scope economies (and natural monopolies); perfect and imperfect competition (monopoly and oligopoly); total welfare v consumer welfare

  4. Relevant market: notion definition and purpose

  5. Art. 101/1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU): a primer

  6. Undertaking: notion and essential features

  7. The notion of agreement in Art. 101/1 TFEU; horizontal and vertical agreements; the notion of agreement in particular settings

  8. The notion of decision by associations of undertakings for the purpose of Art. 101/1 TFEU

  9. The notion of concerted practice: justification and (elusive) boundaries; the issue of parallel behaviour in the market

  10. Elements and application of Art. 101/3 TFEU

  11. Discussion os some of the most common examples of horizontal agreements  and concerted practices: price fixing, supply or output restriction, market and client partitioning, information exchange

  12. Vertical agrrements and their assessment under competition law

  13. The abuse of a domint position under Art. 102 TFEU: the definition of the relevant market; identifying dominance; distinguishing between different types of abuse

  14. Collective dominance: notion and justification

  15. Competition rules and the State: Art. 106 TFEU

  16. Regulation (EC) 1/2003 and the application of Arts. 101 and 102 TFEU

  17. Regulation (EC) 139/2004 and merger control

  18. State aid: a primer