The Competition Commissioner

The Competition Commissioner, Margarethe Vestager, has so far resisted calls for an environmental sustainability exemption or defence to Article 101 TFEU. Critics argue that the far-reaching nature of Article 101 is having a chilling effect on environmental cooperation because businesses fear the necessary information sharing could easily spill-over into an infringement. They point in particular to the difficulty of justifying environmental sustainability agreements under the criteria of Article 101(3), for example because such agreements bring long-term benefits to society rather than immediate benefits to specific groups of consumers. Critically discuss this statement with reference to Article 101 TFEU.