Isabel de Paiva (master’s student in European Union Law at the School of Law of the University of Minho)
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Competition and free economic initiative structure the regulation of markets. In a legal order that follows and preserves economic freedom – that is, in a market economy, or more precisely, in a ‘social market economy’ such as the European one – competition and free economic initiative end up boosting economic development and growth. The promotion of free enterprise is largely underpinned by the existence of competition (and vice versa). Competition promotes innovation, better allocation of resources between economic agents and, to that extent, better satisfaction of consumer interests.
In any case, and regardless of the economic function and virtues of competition, there is also a sense of economic justice: competitive conditions must naturally be equal for all, and must not be distorted to the advantage of a few and to the detriment of the collective interest – which consists of the best possible allocation of available resources. This leads us to consider the importance of competition and guaranteeing its effectiveness from a perspective that goes beyond its strictly economic virtues: it begins as an imperative of economic justice and therefore has an ethical and normative aspect. A free market is necessarily a market with as high a level of competition as possible.
Continue reading “Are the Portuguese antitrust sanctions sufficient to guarantee the proper functioning of the internal market?”
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