I. Background to the EU Commission’s Green Paper: Litigatation as a Regulatory Weapon

The European Commission published a Green Paper and Staff Paper in December 2005[1] that signalled the intention to encourage civil litigation in the area of EU competition law. The Green Paper comes from the Competition Directorate-General ("DG COMP") of the Commission, and has not yet been considered by the other Directorates-General or other Commissioners, since no concrete proposals have yet been made. However, the matters raised in the Green Paper indicate that major changes are contemplated. The change in policy that is signalled here is likely to have a major impact on increasing litigation not just in the antitrust field but also in every other type of claim. Europe seems to be heading for a litigation explosion.

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