The prohibition on restrictive agreements

Article 101(1) TFEU prohibits agreements and concerted practices between two or more undertakings (or associations of undertakings) which may affect trade between EU Member States and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction, or distortion of competition within the internal market. In particular, the Article 101(1) TFEU prohibition focuses on arrangements which:

•
directly or indirectly fix purchase or selling prices or any other trading conditions,
•
limit or control production, markets, technical development, or investment,
•
share markets or sources of supply,
•
apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions with other trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage, or
•
make the conclusion of contracts subject to tie-in of supplementary obligations unconnected with the subject matter of the contract.

See further: The prohibition on restrictive agreements.

Where an agreement is determined by either the European Commission (Commission), national competition authorities (NCAs), or the EU courts to have a restrictive ‘object’ or is shown to produce appreciably restrictive effects within the meaning of Article 101(1) TFEU, the agreement will be illegal under Article 101(2) TFEU unless the

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

TAKE A FREE TRIAL

Latest Competition News

EU Competition law—daily round-up (25/07/2025)

A round-up of EU competition law developments, including the latest State aid developments.

EU Competition law—daily round-up (24/07/2025)

A round-up of EU competition law developments, including (amongst other things) the Commission’s decision to launch an investigation into whether KKR provided incorrect or misleading information to the Commission during its 2024 merger investigation into KKR’s acquisition of NetCo.

Competition weekly highlights—24 July 2025

This week's edition of Competition weekly highlights includes, from a UK perspective: (1) a series of reforms to the NSI Act 2021, namely: (i) a consultation on proposed reforms to the Act’s mandatory notification regime, (ii) the Government’s intention to remove NSI notification requirements for internal reorganisations and insolvency appointments, and (iii) publication of the 2024–25 Annual Report, (2) the CMA’s decision that Aramark/Entier merger meets the test for reference to a phase 2, and (3) publication of the IWC’s final report on its review of the regulatory framework for the water sector in England and Wales, in which it recommends the abolition of Ofwat. This week's highlights also includes, from an EU perspective: the Commission’s decisions to: (1) issue an SO for potential breaches of Articles 4, 7 and 8 EUMR in the Vivendi/Lagardère merger, (2) the Commission’s decision to refer UMG/Downtown to phase II, (3) launch a consultation on draft FSR guidelines, and (4) accept commitments offered by Corning in its ‘Gorilla Glass’ abuse investigation.

UK Competition law—daily round-up (24/07/2025)

A round-up of UK competition law developments, including (amongst other things) (1) the CAT judgment dismissing for the second time a subsidy control challenge against a decision by Greater Manchester Combined Authority, (2) the Government publishes the Enterprise Act 2002 (Mergers Involving Newspaper Enterprises and Foreign Powers) Order and The Enterprise Act 2002 (Definition of Newspaper), (3) the CAT’s judgment granting CPOs for opt-out claims against Amazon, and (4) the CMA publishes guidance on its approach to how it will use its market powers in the coming years.