The Ever-Expanding Conquest of Agricultural Policy over Competition Rules in the EU

Abstract This article seeks to critically explore the increasing number of antitrust exemptions granted to the agricultural sector in the European Union. Since the 2020s this has been happening under the aegis of sustainability. Analyzing this issue in a broader law-and-policy context, the article sheds light on the shortcomings and flaws of the current regime and the relationship between agriculture and competition rules. The historical context of this nexus provides an account of the emergence of the sustainability objective in both areas. This culminated in a fresh proposal by the Commission to include social and economic sustainability considerations in the EU antitrust provisions specifically applicable to the agricultural sector. After that it takes an enforcement perspective to better understand why the already existing exemptions are not sufficient for the sector. The relationship between the sector and competition rules from the contesting paradigm of food sovereignty is then briefly examined to shed light on the ungrounded accusations that agricultural producers are not given enough protection in the competitive process. It concludes with a recommendation to explore new avenues to handle agricultural producers’ unrest generated by the functioning of markets, because antitrust rules and their current enforcement mechanism are not part of the problem.