Reform of European Union Rules on Distribution: It is Not Possible in the EU to Create a System of Exclusive Franchised Territories in Which Each Franchisee is Protected from Competition from Other Franchisees of the Same Brand Outside Its Territory (International Development‪)‬

The European Union antitrust rules on the distribution of goods are under reform. For years the rules have been criticized both for imposing a straightjacket on business behavior and for outlawing practices that are not obviously anti-competitive. Many years ago, franchising had its own set of rules in a specific regulation issued by the European Commission, the institution responsible for the implementation of antitrust law in the EU. This was one of a number of regulations applying to different forms of distribution structure: exclusive distribution, exclusive purchasing and so on. In 1999, the commission issued a new general regulation which provides a "safe harbor" from the application of antitrust law in the EU for all types of "vertical" agreement provided that the supplier's (franchisor's) market share did not exceed 30 percent (the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation.