Private equity and competition law: private actions in antitrust law

Last year the European Commission published its widely anticipated proposal for a directive on rules governing private damages actions for breach of the EU antitrust rules.

The proposed directive’s main objective is to ensure the effective enforcement of the EU antitrust rules by:

• optimising the interaction between the public and private enforcement of these rules
• improving the conditions under which compensation can be obtained for harm caused by infringements of the rules

In April this year, the European Parliament voted to adopt the proposed directive. The proposed directive is expected to be formally approved at a meeting of ministers of EU Member States to be held in May. Member States will then have two years to implement the proposed directive into their national legal systems.