Verpflichtungszusagen im europäischen Kartellrecht und der Grundsatz der Verhältnismäßigkeit

Commitment decisions are a popular means for the European Commission to close antitrust proceedings. This book examines the influence of the principle of proportionality on commitment decisions, a topic which has neither been fully scrutinised in research literature nor properly clarified by the courts thus far. Firstly, the book gives a general overview of commitment decisions and analyses their similarities and differences to other instruments in European competition law. It then explores the principle of proportionality and its role in competition law. Subsequently, the main part of the book examines the alleged precedence of commitment decisions over other instruments of competition law. The following chapter looks at the proper application of the principle of proportionality on commitment decisions by the European Commission. Finally, in a summary analysis, the book concludes that the principle of proportionality’s main strengths unfold especially with regard to commitment decisions.