Extension of the period of validity of Commission Regulation (EU) No 1218/2010 of 14 December 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to certain categories of specialisation agreements
Date: 2022-10-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Competition, European Commission
Subjects: EU competition policy



IMMC.Ares%282022%297116461.ENG.xhtml.PART-2022-766158V1.docx












CALL FOR EVIDENCE


FOR AN INITIATIVE (without an impact assessment)






Title of the initiative




EU Competition rules – research and development agreements and specialisation agreements (extending the validity)






Lead DG – responsible unit 




DG COMP 






Likely Type of initiative




Commission Regulations 






Indicative Timing




Q4 2022






Additional Information




Link to Regulation (EU) No 1217/2010 of 14 December 2010


Link to Regulation (EU) No 1218/2010 of 14 December 2010


Link to proposed amendment to Regulation 1217/2010


Link to proposed amendment to Regulation 1218/2010






This document is for information purposes only. It does not prejudge the final decision of the Commission on whether this initiative will be pursued or on its final content. All elements of the initiative described by this document, including its timing, are subject to change.









A. Political context, problem definition and subsidiarity check






Political context






Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits agreements between undertakings that restrict competition unless they generate efficiencies in line with Article 101(3) TFEU. This requires that such agreements contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods or services, or to promoting technical or economic progress, while allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefits. In addition, they must only impose restrictions that are indispensable for the attainment of these objectives and which do not eliminate competition in respect of a substantial part of the product in question. The prohibition contained in Article 101(1) TFEU covers, among others, agreements entered into between actual or potential competitors.



Council Regulation (EEC) No 2821/71 of 20 December 1971 on application of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practice enables the Commission to declare that the provisions of Article 101(1) do not apply to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices. This is in order to make it easier for undertakings to cooperate in ways that are economically desirable and without any adverse effect for competition policy.



Commission Regulation (EU) No 1217/2010 of 14 December 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) TFEU to certain categories of research and development agreements and Commission Regulation No 1218/2010 of 14 December 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) TFEU to certain categories of specialisation agreements (the Regulations) grant a block exemption from the prohibition contained in Article 101(1) TFEU to certain categories of research and development agreements and specialisation agreements. The Regulations expire on 31 December 2022.







Problem the initiative aims to tackle






Following an evaluation of the Regulations, the Commission, on 7 June 2021, launched an impact assessment of policy options for the adoption of new block exemption regulations for research and development agreements and specialisation agreements. On 1 March 2022, the Commission published draft new regulations for stakeholder comment.


The objective of this initiative is to ensure sufficient time for the Commission to complete the process for the adoption of new regulations. In particular, more time is needed to fully consider feedback received in response to the public consultation on the draft texts, which ended on 26 April 2022. For this purpose, it is proposed to extend the period of validity of the Regulations by 6 months, namely until 30 June 2023.







Basis for EU action (legal basis and subsidiarity check) 






Legal basis






The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Council Regulation (EEC) No 2821/71 of 20 December 1971 on application of Article 85(3) of the Treaty to categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices (OJ L 285, 29.12.1971, p. 46).






Practical need for EU action






The initiative falls under a policy area where the EU has exclusive powers (in accordance with Article 3(1)(b) TFEU). This means that the subsidiarity principle does not apply.






B. What does the initiative aim to achieve and how






Likely impacts






The expiry of the Regulations before the entry into force of new block exemption regulations would create a regulatory gap, which would diminish legal certainty for undertakings that are party to research and development agreements and specialisation agreements. A short extension of the period of validity of the Regulations would avoid a negative impact on businesses, in terms of legal certainty and regulatory stability.






Future monitoring






The initiative is limited to a short extension of the period of validity of the Regulations to allow time to complete the ongoing revision process. Therefore, no future monitoring is necessary. 






C. Better regulation






Impact assessment






The initiative is limited to the extension of the period of validity of the two Regulations to ensure sufficient time to complete their revision. Extending the period of validity of the Regulations by 6 months will have no material additional impact.


In parallel to asking for feedback on this document, the Commission has also published the draft regulations extending the period of validity of the Regulations, as required by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2821/71. The texts can be accessed here: https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/public-consultations/2022-specialisation-agreements_en.