Resale Price Maintenance in EC Competition Law: The Need for a Standardised Approach

Abstract

The paper addresses the paradox that, although it is generally recognised among economists that minimum and fixed resale price maintenance can have both positive and negative effects on consumer welfare, the current approach under EC competition law can still be characterised as a de facto per se prohibition. It is argued that excluding minimum and fixed resale price maintenance from the category of hardcore restrictions is undesirable, because this would substantially increase regulation costs. The current regime is moreover satisfactory because it leaves sufficient room to argue that a specific agreement entailing RPM should not be considered an infringement of competition law.