Consumer Involvement in Private EU Competition Law Enforcement

Dr Maria Ioannidou is a Lecturer in Competition Law at Queen Mary, University of London. She holds an MPhil and DPhil in EU competition law from the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the area of EU and UK competition law and in particular on the evaluation and improvement of current enforcement mechanisms. Apart from her main research interest, Maria has also conducted research on various issues relating to competition law enforcement and has recently published papers on EU merger control and international competition law.

• Introduction ; Part 1 POLICY AND NORMATIVE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR INCREASED CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN PRIVATE EU COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT ; 1. CONSUMER INTEREST IN EU COMPETITION LAW: A POLICY ANALYSIS ; 2. NORMATIVE JUSTIFICATIONS FOR INCREASED CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT ; Part 2 FORMULATING MEASURES ENHANCING THE CONSUMERS' ROLE IN PRIVATE COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT ; 3. 'STANDING' AND 'ACCESS TO EVIDENCE': OBSTACLES FOR 'GROUP A' AND 'GROUP B' CONSUMER CLAIMS ; 4. COLLECTIVE ACTIONS: ADDRESSING 'GROUP B' CONSUMER CLAIMS ; Part 3 TOWARDS ACCEPTABLE MECHANISMS ; 5. CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT IN PUBLIC COMPETITION LAW ENFORCEMENT: TOWARDS ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES ; 6. OVERCOMING INSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL LIMITATIONS: APPROPRIATE INSTRUMENTS FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF EUROPEAN WIDE MEASURES ; 7. CONCLUDING REMARKS ; Bibliography

For anyone who cares about consumers and competition this is a must-read. Ioannidou sets out clearly and cogently where European competition law is still failing consumers, and then makes practical and thoughtful proposals on how to move from the current rhetoric to real consumer participation and protection in competition law enforcement