Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation, and in accordance with Article 42 TFEU, Articles 101 to 106 TFEU and the implementing provisions thereto shall, subject to Articles 207 to 210 of this Regulation, apply to all agreements, decisions and practices referred to in Article 101(1) and Article 102 TFEU which relate to the production of, or trade in, agricultural products.
In order to ensure the functioning of the internal market and the uniform application of Union competition rules, the Commission and the competition authorities of the Member States shall apply the Union competition rules in close cooperation.
In addition, the Commission shall, where appropriate, publish guidelines to assist the national competition authorities, as well as undertakings.
The definition of the relevant market is a tool to identify and define the boundaries of competition between undertakings, and shall be founded on two cumulative elements:
the relevant product market: for the purposes of this Chapter, "product market" means the market comprising all those products which are regarded as interchangeable or substitutable by the consumer by reason of the products' characteristics, their prices and their intended use;
the relevant geographic market: for the purposes of this Chapter, "geographic market" means the market comprising the area in which the undertakings concerned are involved in the supply of the relevant products, in which the conditions of competition are sufficiently homogeneous and which can be distinguished from neighbouring areas, particularly because the conditions of competition are appreciably different in those areas.
For the purposes of this Chapter, "dominant position" means a position of economic strength enjoyed by an undertaking which enables it to prevent effective competition being maintained in the relevant market by giving it the power to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, customers and ultimately of consumers.
1.Article 101(1) TFEU shall not apply to the agreements, decisions and practices referred to in Article 206 of this Regulation necessary for the attainment of the objectives set out in Article 39 TFEU.
[F1Article 101(1) TFEU shall not apply to agreements, decisions and concerted practices of farmers, farmers' associations, or associations of such associations, or producer organisations recognised under Article 152 or Article 161 of this Regulation, or associations of producer organisations recognised under Article 156 of this Regulation, which concern the production or sale of agricultural products or the use of joint facilities for the storage, treatment or processing of agricultural products, unless the objectives set out in Article 39 TFEU are jeopardised.]
This paragraph shall not apply to agreements, decisions and concerted practices which entail an obligation to charge an identical price or by which competition is excluded.
2.Agreements, decisions and concerted practices which fulfil the conditions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be prohibited, no prior decision to that effect being required.
[F2However, farmers, farmers’ associations, or associations of such associations, or producer organisations recognised under Article 152 or Article 161 of this Regulation, or associations of producer organisations recognised under Article 156 of this Regulation, may request an opinion from the Commission on the compatibility of those agreements, decisions and concerted practices with the objectives set out in Article 39 TFEU.
The Commission shall deal with requests for opinions promptly and shall send the applicant its opinion within four months of receipt of a complete request. The Commission may, at its own initiative or at the request of a Member State, change the content of an opinion, in particular if the applicant has provided inaccurate information or misused the opinion.]
In any national or Union proceedings for the application of Article 101 TFEU, the burden of proving an infringement of Article 101(1) TFEU shall rest on the party or the authority alleging the infringement. The party claiming the benefit of the exemptions provided in paragraph 1 of this Article shall bear the burden of proving that the conditions of that paragraph are fulfilled.
Textual Amendments
F1Substituted by Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2017 amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material.
F2 Inserted by Regulation (EU) 2017/2393 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2017 amending Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), (EU) No 1306/2013 on the financing, management and monitoring of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1307/2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy, (EU) No 1308/2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and (EU) No 652/2014 laying down provisions for the management of expenditure relating to the food chain, animal health and animal welfare, and relating to plant health and plant reproductive material.
1.Article 101(1) TFEU shall not apply to agreements, decisions and concerted practices of interbranch organisations recognised under Article 157 of this Regulation with the object of carrying out the activities listed in point (c) of Article 157(1) and, for the milk and milk products sector, in point (c) of Article 157(3) of this Regulation, and, for the olive oil and table olives and tobacco sectors, in Article 162 of this Regulation.
2.Paragraph 1 shall apply provided that:
(a)the agreements, decisions and concerted practices referred to therein have been notified to the Commission; and
(b)within two months of receipt of all the details required the Commission has not found that those agreements, decisions or concerted practices are incompatible with Union rules.
Where the Commission finds that the agreements, decisions or concerted practices referred to in paragraph 1 are incompatible with Union rules, it shall set out its finding without applying the procedure referred to in Article 229(2) or (3).
3.The agreements, decisions and concerted practices referred to in paragraph 1 may not be put into effect before the lapse of the two-month period referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2.
4.Agreements, decisions and concerted practices shall in any case be declared incompatible with Union rules if they:
(a)may lead to the partitioning of markets within the Union in any form;
(b)may affect the sound operation of the market organisation;
(c)may create distortions of competition which are not essential to achieving the objectives of the CAP pursued by the interbranch organisation activity;
(d)entail the fixing of prices or the fixing of quotas;
(e)may create discrimination or eliminate competition in respect of a substantial proportion of the products in question.
5.If, following the expiry of the two-month period referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, the Commission finds that the conditions for applying paragraph 1 have not been met, it shall, without applying the procedure referred to in Article 229(2) or (3), take a decision declaring that Article 101(1) TFEU applies to the agreement, decision or concerted practice in question.
That Commission decision shall not apply earlier than the date of its notification to the interbranch organisation concerned, unless that interbranch organisation has given incorrect information or abused the exemption provided for in paragraph 1.
6.In the case of multiannual agreements, the notification for the first year shall be valid for the subsequent years of the agreement. However, in that event, the Commission may, on its own initiative or at the request of another Member State, issue a finding of incompatibility at any time.
7.The Commission may adopt implementing acts laying down the measures necessary for the uniform application of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 229(2).