Developments in European Competition Policy

During the last few years, competition policy has been an area in which many important developments have taken place. The internal market programme, merger control regulation, the liberalization of sectors previously dominated by large state-owned firms, and developments in the international trading system all have consequences for the way in which competition policy is conducted. Moreover, all these developments present an interesting perspective from which to take stock of the Community's competition policy and to assess its role in the development of the internal market.

This volume brings together the papers which were first presented at a workshop held at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA), Maastricht (NL), during the summer of 1994. The papers deal with various issues of competition policy, notably the economic philosophy underlying the Community's competition policy, the first experiences with the European system of merger control, European policies with respect to state monopolies, and state aids. Furthermore, this publication contains two papers dealing with the relationship between international trade and competition policies. The final paper contains a discussion on possible avenues for reforming the common competition policy.