Last week Cartel Capers featured a post from James Musgrove and Joshua Chad, What Fresh Hell Is This: The Canadian Cartel Class Action System.  I wanted to follow up that post with an update on collective redress in Europe. On November 26, 2104 the European Parliament adopted certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringement of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union. The “Damages Directive” was published on December 5, 2014 and EU countries need to implement it by December 27, 2016. The aim of the Directive is more efficient enforcement of the EU competition rules by making it easier for victims of antitrust violations to claim compensation. While larger companies already often obtain redress for price-fixing overcharges in Europe, the Directive aims to make recovery a realistic options for smaller companies and consumers.

For more information see the EU Competition Policy Brief—The Damages Directive, January 2015.

Thanks for reading.