EU may act to ensure sales competition; Commission fears excessive standards betray spirit of rules.(Industry Overview)

Automotive News Europe,  December, 2003  

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Byline: Luca Ciferri

The European Union is considering intervening to ensure that block exemption rules work as intended, a member of the EU's competition committee said.

The EU crafted the new regulations for automakers, which took effect October 1, to increase competition and lower prices for consumers. But the EU is monitoring whether automakers are using the rule changes to create franchise contracts that achieve the opposite effects.

"The introduction of excessive standards should not betray the spirit of the new block exemption rules," said Paolo Cesarini, ...

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