Antitrust Class Actions in the European Union: Latest Developments and the Need for a Uniform Regime

The evolution of class actions continues to feature prominently on Europe’s competition law landscape. At European Union (EU) level, the European Commission (Commission) has supported private enforcement vocally, going as far as drafting legislation to mandate an EU-wide class action mechanism although withdrawing it from the agenda at the last minute. Nonetheless, the Commission is preparing a new round of discussions in order to finalise the ongoing debate on the harmonisation of class action rules in Europe. In the meantime, certain EU Member States such as Italy have implemented their own national class action legislation.