Access to File under European Competition Law

The present survey focuses on recent judgments that deal with the right of damage claimants to access the Commission’s file in cartel cases and with the type of information the Commission may include in the public version of its cartel decisions. On the first point, access to the file through the EU Transparency Regulation remains an uphill battle for cartel damage claimants. The General Court confirmed the general presumption that access to the file would undermine the protection of commercial interests or the purpose of the Commission’s investigations and the Ombudsman found that refusing access to the file on that basis does not amount to maladministration on the part of the Commission. The EU Damages Directive that was adopted last year provides the most efficient and reliable avenue for cartel damage claimants to obtain access to the Commission’s file. On the second point, the General Court effectively legitimised the Commission’s new policy on publication of cartel decisions. Damage claimants should now expect longer and more detailed public versions of cartel decisions that should contain more information relating to the operation of the sanctioned cartel and serve as a better source of evidence in actions for damages before national courts.