1965R0019 — EN — 01.01.1981 — 002.001 — 1
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►B REGULATION No 19/65/EEC OF THE COUNCIL
of 2 March 1965
on application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of agreements and concerted
practices
(OJ P 36, 6.3.1965, p. 533)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland L 73 14 27.3.1972
►A2Act of Accession of Greece L 291 17 19.11.1979
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REGULATION No 19/65/EEC OF THE COUNCIL
of 2 March 1965
on application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of
agreements and concerted practices
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity, and in particular Article 87 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament(
1);
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2);
Whereas Article 85 (1) of the Treaty may in accordance with Article 85
(3) be declared inapplicable to certain categories of agreements,decisions and concerted practices which fulfil the conditions contained
in Article 85 (3);
Whereas the provisions for implementation of Article 85 (3) must be
adopted by way of regulation pursuant to Article 87;
Whereas in view of the large number of notifications submitted in
pursuance of Regulation No 17(
3)it is desirable that in order to facilitate
the task of the Commission it should be enabled to declare by way of
regulation that the provisions of Article 85 (1) do not apply to certain
categories of agreements and concerted practices;
Whereas it should be laid down under what conditions the Commission,
in close and constant liaison with the competent authorities of theMember States, may exercise such powers after sufficient experience
has been gained in the light of individual decisions and it becomes
possible to define categories of agreements and concerted practices inrespect of which the conditions of Article 85 (3) may be considered asbeing fulfilled;
Whereas the Commission has indicated by the action it has taken, in
particular by Regulation No 153,(
4) that there can be no easing of the
procedures prescribed by Regulation No 17 in respect of certain types of
agreements and concerted practices that are particularly liable to distortcompetition in the common market;
Whereas under Article 6 of Regulation No 17 the Commission may
provide that a decision taken pursuant to Article 85 (3) of the Treatyshall apply with retroactive effect; whereas it is desirable that the
Commission be also empowered to adopt, by regulation, provisions to
the like effect;
Whereas under Article 7 of Regulation No 17 agreements, decisions and
concerted practices may, by decision of the Commission, be exemptedfrom prohibition in particular if they are modified in such manner that
they statisfy the requirements of Article 85 (3); whereas it is desirable
that the Commission be enabled to grant like exemption by regulation tosuch agreements and concerted practices if they are modified in suchmanner as to fall within a category defined in an exempting regulation;
Whereas, since there can be no exemption if the conditions set out in
Article 85 (3) are not satisfied, the Commission must have power to lay
down by decision the conditions that must be satisfied by an agreement
or concerted practice which owing to special circumstances has certaineffects incompatible with Article 85 (3);1965R0019 — EN — 01.01.1981 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ No 81, 27.5.1964, p. 1275/64.
(2) OJ No 197, 30.11.1964, p. 3320/64.
(3) OJ No 13, 21.2.1962, p. 204/62 (Regulation No 17 as amended by Regulation
No 59 - OJ No 58, 10.7.1962, p. 1655/62 - and Regulation No 118/63/EEC -
OJ No 162, 7.11.1963, p. 2696/63.
(4) OJ No 139, 24.12.1962, p. 2918/62.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Without prejudice to the application of Council Regulation No 17
and in accordance with Article 85 (3) of the Treaty the Commission mayby regulation declare that Article 85 (1) shall not apply to categories of
agreements to which only two undertakings are party and:
(a) — whereby one party agrees with the other to supply only to that
other certain goods for resale within a defined area of thecommon market; or
— whereby one party agrees with the other to purchase only from
that other certain goods for resale; or
— whereby the two undertakings have entered into obligations, as
in the two preceding subparagraphs, with each other in respect ofexclusive supply and purchase for resale;
(b) which include restrictions imposed in relation to the acquisition or
use of industrial property rights—in particular of patents, utility
models, designs or trade marks—or to the rights arising out of
contracts for assignment of, or the right to use, a method ofmanufacture or knowledge relating to the use or to the application ofindustrial processes.
2. The regulation shall define the categories of agreements to which it
applies and shall specify in particular:
(a) the restrictions or clauses which must not be contained in the
agreements;
(b) the clauses which must be contained in the agreements, or the other
conditions which must be satisfied.
3. Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall apply by analogy to categories of
concerted practices to which only two undertakings are party.
Article 2
1. A regulation pursuant to Article 1 shall be made for a specified
period.
2. It may be repealed or amended where circumstances have changed
with respect to any factor which was basic to its being made; in suchcase, a period shall be fixed for modification of the agreements andconcerted practices to which the earlier regulation applies.
Article 3
A regulation pursuant to Article 1 may stipulate that it shall apply with
retroactive effect to agreements and concerted practices to which, at thedate of entry into force of that regulation, a decision issued with
retroactive effect in pursuance of Article 6 of Regulation No 17 would
have applied.
Article 4
1. A regulation pursuant to Article 1 may stipulate that the
prohibition contained in Article 85 (1) of the Treaty shall not apply,for such period as shall be fixed by that regulation, to agreements andconcerted practices already in existence on 13 March 1962 which do notsatisfy the conditions of Article 85 (3), where:
— within three months from the entry into force of the Regulation, they
are so modified as to satisfy the said conditions in accordance withthe provisions of the regulation; and
— the modifications are brought to the notice of the Commission within
the time limit fixed by the regulation.
A regulation pursuant to Article 1 may stipulate that the prohibition
contained in Article 85(1) of the Treaty shall not apply, for such periodas shall be fixed by that regulation, to agreements and concerted1965R0019 — EN — 01.01.1981 — 002.001 — 3
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practices already in existence at the date of accession to which Article
85 applies by virtue of accession and which do not satisfy the conditionsof Article 85(3), where:
The provisions of the preceding subparagraph shall apply in the same
way in the case of the accession of the Hellenic Republic.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply to agreements and concerted practices
which had to be notified before 1 February 1963, in accordance withArticle 5 of Regulation No 17, only where they have been so notifiedbefore that date.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to agreements and concerted practices to
which Article 85(1) of the Treaty applies by virtue of accession and
which must be notified before 1 July 1973, in accordance with Articles 5
and 25 of Regulation No 17, unless they have been so notified beforethat date.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to agreements and concerted practices to
which Article 85 (1) of the Treaty applies by virtue of the accession ofthe Hellenic Republic and which must be notified before 1 July 1981, in
accordance with Articles 5 and 25 of Regulation No 17, unless they have
been so notified before that date.
3. The benefit of the provisions laid down pursuant to paragraph 1
may not be claimed in actions pending at the date of entry into force of aregulation adopted pursuant to Article 1; neither may it be relied on asgrounds for claims for damages against third parties.
Article 5
Before adopting a regulation, the Commission shall publish a draft
thereof and invite all persons concerned to submit their comments withinsuch time limit, being not less than one month, as the Commission shallfix.
Article 6
1. The Commission shall consult the Adivsory Committee on
Restrictive Practices and Monopolies:
(a) before publishing a draft regulation;
(b) before adopting a regulation.
2. Article 10 (5) and (6) of Regulation No 17, relating to consultation
with the Advisory Committee, shall apply by analogy, it beingunderstood that joint meetings with the Commission shall take placenot earlier than one month after dispatch of the notice convening them.
Article 7
Where the Commission, either on its own initiative or at the request of a
Member State or of natural or legal persons claiming a legitimateinterest, finds that in any particular case agreements or concertedpractices to which a regulation adopted pursuant to Article 1 of thisRegulation applies have nevertheless certain effects which are
incompatible with the conditions laid down in Article 85 (3) of the
Treaty, it may withdraw the benefit of application of that regulation andissue a decision in accordance with Articles 6 and 8 of Regulation No17, without any notification under Article 4 (1) of Regulation No 17being required.
Article 8
The Commission shall, before 1 January 1970, submit to the Council a
proposal for a Regulation for such amendment of this Regulation as mayprove necessary in the light of experience.1965R0019 — EN — 01.01.1981 — 002.001 — 4
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This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.1965R0019 — EN — 01.01.1981 — 002.001 — 5