Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Analysing vertical agreements outside the EU VBER 2022: Article 101 TFEU framework, Commission 2022 Guidelines, and assessment of specific restraints, distribution systems and agency

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note acts as a practical guide for evaluating vertical agreements that sit beyond the scope of the Vertical Agreement Block Exemption Regulation 2022/720 (VBER 2022). It includes, amongst other elements, a synopsis of the Commission’s 2022 Guidelines on vertical restraints (2022 Guidelines), which provide detailed direction for parties in this setting. The Note proceeds on the basis that readers are already conversant with VBER 2022. For comprehensive discussion of its availability, including how the 30% market share thresholds operate and the treatment of hardcore and excluded restrictions, see Introduction to the application of Article 101 TFEU to vertical agreements and The Vertical Block Exemption Regulation 2022/720. It likewise presumes knowledge of Articles 101(1) and (3) TFEU; see Article 101(1) TFEU-the prohibition on restrictive agreements and Individual exemptions under Article 101(3) TFEU.

Starting position

Where a vertical agreement lies outside VBER 2022’s safe harbour-for example, because the 30% market share limits are surpassed or a hardcore restriction is present-there is no blanket assumption that Article 101(1) is engaged or, if it is, that the conditions for an individual exemption under Article 101(3) cannot be met. In these...

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Web page updated on 28/05/2026

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