Abstract
The use of environmental agreements by companies as a tool to improve environmental protection can be hindered by a strict interpretation of competition rules. This article analyses how the European Commission attempts to reconcile the requirement of environmental protection with anti-trust law, by examining the principles that the Commission has defined in its assessment of packaging waste management systems. Although the Commission has considered that some agreements concluded under these schemes were restrictive of competition, it decided not to prohibit them. This article argues that, although attention is given to environmental considerations, the arguments invoked to justify the exemption of these agreements do not allow for integration of environmental protection, as such, in European competition policy. An alternative would be to apply standards of assessment comparable to those used to justify exceptions to the free movement of goods.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 146 |
| Number of pages | 159 |
| Journal | Review of European Community and International Environmental Law |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2006 |
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Environmental Protection and EC Antitrust Law: The Commission’s Approach for Packaging Waste Management Systems. / Boute, Anatole Jean Raymond Thierry.
In: Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, Vol. 15, No. 2, 01.09.2006, p. 146.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental Protection and EC Antitrust Law: The Commission’s Approach for Packaging Waste Management Systems
AU - Boute, Anatole Jean Raymond Thierry
PY - 2006/9/1
Y1 - 2006/9/1
N2 - The use of environmental agreements by companies as a tool to improve environmental protection can be hindered by a strict interpretation of competition rules. This article analyses how the European Commission attempts to reconcile the requirement of environmental protection with anti-trust law, by examining the principles that the Commission has defined in its assessment of packaging waste management systems. Although the Commission has considered that some agreements concluded under these schemes were restrictive of competition, it decided not to prohibit them. This article argues that, although attention is given to environmental considerations, the arguments invoked to justify the exemption of these agreements do not allow for integration of environmental protection, as such, in European competition policy. An alternative would be to apply standards of assessment comparable to those used to justify exceptions to the free movement of goods.
AB - The use of environmental agreements by companies as a tool to improve environmental protection can be hindered by a strict interpretation of competition rules. This article analyses how the European Commission attempts to reconcile the requirement of environmental protection with anti-trust law, by examining the principles that the Commission has defined in its assessment of packaging waste management systems. Although the Commission has considered that some agreements concluded under these schemes were restrictive of competition, it decided not to prohibit them. This article argues that, although attention is given to environmental considerations, the arguments invoked to justify the exemption of these agreements do not allow for integration of environmental protection, as such, in European competition policy. An alternative would be to apply standards of assessment comparable to those used to justify exceptions to the free movement of goods.
U2 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9388.2006.00513.x/abstract
DO - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9388.2006.00513.x/abstract
M3 - Article
VL - 15
SP - 146
JO - Review of European Community and International Environmental Law
JF - Review of European Community and International Environmental Law
IS - 2
ER -