Corporate Accountability in EU Competition Law

Frequently the debate about the relationship between competition and regulation focuses on regulatory standards and accountability. In this article I instead cover three dimensions of corporate accountability that I identify as relevant under the competition rules. Regarding individual firms I advocate a pro-active approach to compliance. Here I use the Big Tech cases at EU and national level as the leading example. Regarding firms interacting in markets, I signal the scope for polycentric private solutions to collective action problems. In this area I discuss the scope for sustainability agreements. Finally, on governments interacting with firms, I deal with responsive law enforcement including responsiveness to law enforcement. In this area I review enforcement against pharmaceutical firms. As will be seen there are lessons to be learned for and from competition policy on all three counts. The next question is: are there common principles to be derived from these observations? The answer given in in this contribution is positive. I try to make this argument in terms of fairness, individual and collective responsibility, as well as subsidiarity and sovereignty in private spheres.