Commission Regulation (EEC) No 417/85 of 19 December 1984 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to categories of specialization agreements

COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 417/85 of 19 December 1984 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to categories of specialization agreements
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2821/71 of 20 December 1971 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices (1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Greece, and in particular Article 1 thereof,
Having published a draft of this Regulation (2),
Having consulted the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions,
Whereas:    (1) Regulation (EEC) No 2821/71 empowers the Commission to apply Article 85 (3) of the Treaty by Regulation to certain categories of agreements, decisions and concerted practices falling within the scope of Article 85 (1) which relate to specialization, including agreements necessary for achieving it.
(2) Agreements on specialization in present or future production may fall within the scope of Article 85 (1).
(3) Agreements on specialization in production generally contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods, because undertakings concerned can concentrate on the manufacture of certain products and thus operate more efficiently and supply the products more cheaply. It is likely that, given effective competition, consumers will receive a fair share of the resulting benefit.
(4) Such advantages can arise equally from agreements whereby each participant gives up the manufacture of certain products in favour of another participant and from agreements whereby the participants undertake to manufacture certain products or have them manufactured only jointly.
(5) The Regulation must specify what restrictions of competition may be included in specialization agreements. The restrictions of competition that are permitted in the Regulation in addition to reciprocal obligations to give up manufacture are normally essential for the making and implementation of such agreements. These restrictions are therefore, in general, indispensable for the attainment of the desired advantages for the participating undertakings and consumers. It may be left to the parties to decide which of these provisions they include in their agreements.
(6) The exemption must be limited to agreements which do not give rise to the possibility of eliminating competition in respect of a substantial part of the products in question. The Regulation must therefore apply only as long as the market share and turnover of the participating undertakings do not exceed a certain limit.  (1) OJ No L 285, 29.12.1971, p. 46. (2) OJ No C 211, 11.8.1984, p. 2.
(7) It is, however, appropriate to offer undertakings which exceed the turnover limit set in the Regulation a simplified means of obtaining the legal certainty provided by the block exemption. This must allow the Commission to exercise effective supervision as well as simplifying its administration of such agreements.
(8) In order to facilitate the conclusion of long-term specialization agreements, which can have a bearing on the structure of the participating undertakings, it is appropriate to fix the period of validity of the Regulation at 13 years. If the circumstances on the basis of which the Regulation was adopted should change significantly within this period, the Commission will make the necessary amendments.
(9) Agreements, decisions and concerted practices which are automatically exempted pursuant to this Regulation need not be notified. Undertakings may none the less in an individual case request a decision pursuant to Council Regulation No 17 (1), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Greece,