EC Competition law - Essay Example

It shall have no inherent or residual powers'. Enroute to European integration, community legislation could not serve the intended purpose and therefore the need was felt for a differentiated range of instruments, besides the traditional legislative ones. The essence of a state based on the rule of law is that the law binds its government actions. The article further states, 'all powers which the Member States enjoy by virtue of their sovereignty, and which they have not conferred on the Union pursuant to this Treaty, remain within the exclusive competence of the Member States'.

It effectively means governing within the boundaries of the law, in conformity with certain principles on which a constitutional state is based and which indicate the limits to the powers to be exercised, with a view to ensuring the freedom and liberty of citizens. Further clarifying, the article states 'the conferment of powers on the Union shall not in itself restrict the powers of the Member States in respect of the same subject-matter, except in the areas identified in Article 9 of this Treaty as falling within the exclusive competence of the Union'. . In this regard, the principle of conferred powers is of crucial importance, as it determines when the EC and its institutions are competent to act.(b). Article 3(1)(g) states, 'he Community's competition rules are not an end in themselves; they are primarily a condition for achieving the common (or internal) market'3.

The aim is 'a system ensuring that competition in the internal market is not distorted'. Thus in the three areas of application of these rules (concerted practices, abuse of dominant position and state aid), prohibition is limited to practices that have an impact on trade between Member States and excludes those that only affect trade within a State. Thus prohibited practices are those 'which may affect trade between Member States and which have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition within the common market'This legislative article is part of a broader internal marketing strategy and aims at consolidating respective member state's markets.

The strategy is aimed at strengthening the foundations of the internal market. It desires that barriers to trade in goods and services must be eliminated, and it must be ensured that European legislation is applied and implemented correctly. The strategy therefore sets out a list of priorities and a schedule for putting them into practice. The concept of internal market is one of the essential cornerstones of EU. It is the culmination of the treaty of Rome, which provided for the creation of a 'common market' based on the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

It is based on the principles of non-discrimination and mutual recognition.Such a mechanism is supposed to function as a control