Competition Policy and Vertical Integration by Co-operatives in the Agri-food Industry of the European Union

Abstract

In the beginning of the paper the theoretical elements of the competition policy in the USA and EU are defined, including Articles 85 and 86 of the Roman Treaty, which regulate the competition on Community level. In the second part of the study, after the theoretical basics, the vertical and horizontal agreements are discussed. The substance of the so called promotional type co-operation and its significance from a vertical integration point of view is the topic of the next point. In the last part of the paper some example of the regulation on competition in agri-food section, featuring co-operatives, can be found.