Book Review: Competition Law and Environmental Protection in Europe; Towards Sustainability?
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X0401100404 |
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Author | Geert van Calster |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
11 MJ 4 (2004) 415
Book Reviews
Hans Vedder, Competition Law and Environmental Protection in
Europe; Towards Sustainability?, Europa Law Publishing, 2003, 478
pages, hardback, € 89
There have now been a number of volumes in which the authors examines the impact of
economic law in so-called ‘softer’ sectors, such as environmental law. Typically
however, authors – the current reviewer included – have focused on the free movement
of goods, sometimes the provisions on state aid (in the EC: Article 87 EC), and / or
provisions on exclusive / special rights (Article 86 as far as the EC is concerned). Those
articles at the core of EC competition law, i.e. Articles 81 EC (anti-competitive
agreements) and Article 82 EC (abuse of a dominant position) have typically been
excluded from such analyses. An often quoted excuse for not including these articles, is
the consideration that, allegedly, the impact of these two articles in the environmental
sector really ought to be analyzed in a separate research. The reviewer suspects that,
with the current volume, those who have invoked this argument in the past may feel
vindicated.
Vedder’s book is the result of his Ph. D. research. This is evident in the depth of his
analysis, as well as – thankfully – in the presence of a fair amount of critical assessment
of the Commission practice. The complete character of the analysis in itself, in the
reviewer’s opinion, ought to grant this volume the label of a reference work, and a more
than qualified successor to Timothy Portwood’s Competition law and the environment,
which dates back to 1994 – a period of much less integration practice – yet which
introduced many an EC lawyer to the thorny issues of Trade and Environment.
Dr. Vedder examines Articles 81, 82, 86 and 87 of the EC Treaty, the ‘effet utile’
doctrine (Article 10 in conjunction with Article 81 EC), as well as the merger
regulation, and subsequently analyzes the case law of the European Commission in the
area. Germany, the United Kingdom and The Netherlands are used as benchmark in a
comparative chapter, and the author also briefly looks into the environmental issues
surrounding the free movement of goods which, as readers will be aware, is challenged
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