The EU Fining Policy : A Law & Economics Analysis

The paper critically analyses the enforcement practices of the European Commission, between 2007 and 2013, focusing on the ways in which the institution has exercised its sanctioning powers. After having examined the purposes of the penalty system, a quantitative and qualitative analysis on the most relevant variables is carried out. Besides evidencing the absolute values ​​of the fines, it is placed emphasis on the relative amount with respect to the total turnover of the companies involved, taking also into account for the legislative changes that have occurred during the reporting periods. Moreover, the penalties are divided into classes according to the turnover of the fined undertakings, and it is also investigated the procedure embraced by the EU Commission for the quantification of fines. Finally, considerations about the ability of sanctions to properly achieve the objectives of punishment and deterrence are presented, pointing out the main critical issues and the perspectives for their solution