Abuse of dominant position in the form of unfair excessive pricing

Abstract

With the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been many indicators among European Union Member States that undertakings are charging excessive prices. Therefore, one might wonder whether undertakings have the freedom of choice when it comes to imposing prices on their customers. Under Article 102 (a) of the TFEU, it is prohibited for undertakings to charge excessive prices. However, many criteria have to be fulfilled so that the competition authorities could intervene against undertakings charging excessive prices. As such, this paper examines the conditions under which it is prohibited for undertakings to charge excessive prices, and considers the challenges when it comes to determining whether the prices imposed are excessive or not.