On 8 September, the European Commission (EC) published a working paper from the Commission`s services summarising the results of its assessment of the Vertical Category Exemption Regulation (VBER) and accompanying vertical guidelines. The results show that the VBER and the guidelines are useful instruments for companies to assess their own compliance with EU competition law. However, since the introduction of the VBER and the guidelines in 2010, the market has changed significantly, due in part to growth in online revenue, the increased role of online platforms and changes in distribution models. As a result, the EC`s assessment highlighted a number of problems with the VBER and the guidelines to be addressed. Below are the main themes identified and the likely priority areas for the EC at the beginning of the next phase of its review. The evolution of the market and, in particular, the growth of online distribution and online platforms, which have changed the nature of the way companies supply and distribute goods and services, are of great importance for the EC`s assessment. This transition to a digital economy has led to several problems in the operation of the VBER and makes it increasingly difficult for companies to evaluate their own vertical agreements with confidence. The Vice-President of the Executive for Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager, has recognised the need to adapt the rules so that they remain appropriate in a rapidly changing digital world 5, which will certainly present a challenge for the EC in revising the rules. [2] Vertical agreements between competitors are subject to further scrutiny.
See Regulation (EC) 330/2010, art.2(4). Vertical agreements are agreements between companies operating at different levels of the production or distribution chain. B an agreement between a producer and a distributor. Current EU rules require companies to assess for themselves the compliance of their vertical agreements with EU competition law, which prohibits competition-limiting agreements under Article 101, paragraph 1, of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The VBER exempts certain types of agreements from the article 101 ban, paragraph 1, where certain conditions are met, giving companies confidence that their agreement is in line with EU competition law. The VBER and its guidelines expire on May 31, 2022. The EC conducted a two-year evaluation to determine whether the VBER and guidelines should be completed, renewed or revised by gathering evidence from a variety of sources, including public consultation, targeted consultation with national competition authorities, a stakeholder workshop and an external evaluation study.