On 17 October, the European Commission adopted a series of measures to increase the transparency of competition investigations.
The Notice on antitrust best practices formalises practices that the Commission put in place in 2010 (such as opening formal proceedings at an earlier stage of an investigation, and publicly announcing the opening and closure of a procedure). However, it also goes further, providing, for example, that parties will be given more detail about the way in which their fines will be calculated (although not the amount) in the statement of objections. A revised mandate for the Hearing Officers will also give them a greater role in the investigative stage, for example in reviewing legal privilege claims, claims of privilege against self-incrimination and deadlines for replying to information requests. The Commission will still take an appealable decision if no agreement can be reached, but the intention is that the involvement of the Hearing Officer will facilitate resolution and avoid unnecessary litigation. The third document in the package addresses best practices on the submission of economic evidence, reflecting the increasing importance of economics in complex cases.
The package is a welcome contribution to greater transparency in Commission enforcement proceedings, but will of course not satisfy those calling for a more fundamental revision of the procedure.
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