These amendments reflect provisions of the new Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions on accessing and using information in the files of competition authorities (also see Press release). The Damages Directive will give victims of antitrust violations easier access to evidence they need to prove the damage suffered and more time to make their claims. It aims to achieve a more effective enforcement of EU antitrust rules overall, whilst preserving the attractiveness of tools used by European and national competition authorities (in particular the leniency and settlement programmes). Member States need to implement the Damages Directive by 27 December 2016.
The Regulation and the four Notices currently contain rules that deviate from the regime as provided for in the Directive. These differences will be addressed by today's amendments to ensure an effective protection of such documents in Commission investigations.
Furthermore, there are also several smaller changes, such as to the Regulation to include in the legislative text established practices in the Commission's leniency and settlements programmes.
The texts of the notices are available here.
