Ex-post evaluation of key procedural aspects of Regulation (EC) no. 1/2003 : access to file and complaints : final report

This Report is the final deliverable under the project 'Ex-post evaluation of key procedural aspects of Regulation 1/2003 - access to file and complaints', which ICF International and Milieu Ltd. undertook on behalf of the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition (DG COMP) between September 2014 and September 2015. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (Regulation 1/2003) provides the procedural framework of EU competition law, enabling the effective and uniform enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, by DG COMP and National Competition Authorities (NCAs) and national courts. The study evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of the system in place for access to DG COMP's files, as well as DG COMP's formal complaints (Form C) procedure over a period of five years (2009 to March 2014), by comparing its costs and benefits with those of similar procedures in Germany (DE), the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), France (FR) and the United States of America (US). The results of the evaluation may be used both for stocktaking and potentially in conjunction with an impact assessment concerning a potential reform of Regulation 1/2003. Key elements of the methodology were a large stakeholder consultation and a case study phase reaching out to almost 350 lawyers, EC and NCA officials, complainants and representatives of the judiciary through interviews, case studies, an online survey, a workshop and two Focus Groups. Before evaluating the EU access to file and complaints systems, this Report summarises the factual and legal background relevant thereto and provides information on the systems in place in the five comparator countries. The overview of the systems and procedures whereby access to the DG COMP or NCA file is granted describes the stakeholders granted access, the criteria for granting access, the definition of confidential information, the rejection of applications for access, the timing of access and time limits to review the file. Whilst the terminology used in the systems analysed varies, the methods used in the comparator countries are classified in accordance with the EU level method with which they are most comparable.