Franz Urlesberger and Stefanie Stegbauer (2012) - Competition Law International.
Are the Austrian Rules for the Protection of Media Plurality in Line with European Union
The Austrian Cartel Act (Kartellgesetz 2005) contains the following provisions to safeguard the plurality of the media:an exemption from the cartel ban for resale price maintenance with regard to books, art prints, music supplies, magazines and newspapers to maintain cultural diversity; and complementary merger control rules applicable to media mergers to ensure a diversity of independent media and opinions. In this article, we will show that it is questionable that these provisions and the practice the Austrian competition law enforcers when applying these rules are in accordance with European Union (EU or Union) competition law.
