Essay About Uk Food Group And Buyer Dominance

Uk Food Group
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UK Food Group Briefing
UK Food Group
PO Box 100,
London, UK
SE1 7RT
Tel: + 44 (0)207 523 2369
Email: [email protected]
EU COMPETITION RULES AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF FARMERS AND SMALL SUPPLIERS
COMMISSIONED BY THE UK FOOD GROUP TO THE
BRITISH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW
March 2005
CONTENTS
Briefing remit
Summary of conclusion and recommendations 2
Competition law background
Merger regulation and cross boarder alliances
UK Merger regulation
European Competition Law
Antitrust rules
~ Exemptions
~ Enforcement
~ The issue of ‘dominant position’
~ Other countries experiences
Recent developments in European Law
a. Proposal for a Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices
b. Draft regulation on Sales Promotion
9. Possibilities for further legislation
10
a. European Code of Conduct
10
b. Below-cost selling
11
c. Action to limit supermarket developments
11
c. Action to limit supermarket developments
11
10.
Conclusions and recommendations
12
11. About the UK Food Group, BIICL and further resources
14
BRIEFING REMIT
In July 2004, the UK Food Group (UKFG) asked the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (ICL) to prepare a briefing on the relevant EU legal framework. The UKFG requested that the briefing should also include proposals that could be of assistance to the UKFG network in developing an EU wide campaign calling for legislation to curb the power of supermarkets. Members of the UKFG along with others have lobbied in the UK for a statutory Code of Practice to regulate supermarkets in their dealings with suppliers.

This briefing note is intended for UKFG network members and other CSOs campaigning across Europe for more equitable polices for small farmers faced with increasing supermarket power in the food supply chain. Its aim is to provide a realistic assessment of the opportunities for CSOs to influence EU policy, and to also to provide information and analysis that could be of assistance to UK CSO’s in their work to influence EU policy. Some material about the laws of other EU member states is included to assess EU and UK policies and to provide arguments in lobbying in the EU and domestic process. A draft of this report provided the basis of a campaign meeting in the UK in September 2004, and it’s hoped that this analysis will provide a useful background to support CSO campaign initiatives across Europe.

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In the report, a strategy is set out which contains two main elements:
(1) the monitoring of mergers and the making of submissions on a regular basis, and
(2) monitoring developments in both European and national legislation and active participation in this respect too.
The aim of competition law is limited, and traditionally limited to the protection of consumer interests. Until the problem of ‘buyer dominance’ is recognised as a significant problem by the European Commission, there is little chance