EU競争政策の正統性と消費者の役割

―集団損害賠償請求制度案の失敗を事例として―

抄録

　Since the 1990s, much debate has existed over the European Union’s （EU） democratic deficit problem. Some theorists argue that, while input legitimacy is essential in redistributive policies, the EU mainly relies on output legitimacy in regulatory policies. However, previous studies have insufficiently analyzed the EU’s exact position on this matter regarding specific regulatory policies. Against this background, this article focuses on the EU’s competition policy―a typical regulatory policy―and investigates a series of policy and institutional reforms conducted by the EU since the 2000s for the promotion of political participation by consumers and consumer organizations. The article will contribute to the literature on the EU’s legitimacy by analyzing the European Commission’s purpose for these reforms, focusing on the case of the failed plan to establish a collective redress system for consumers. Although this plan was not legislated, it constitutes an interesting case study because a decade-long policy debate about it possibly revealed the European Commission’s stance on the issue of consumers’ role in competition policy. The empirical analysis is mainly based on primary sources such as the European Commission’s policy documents, European Parliament resolutions, and responses of stakeholders to the Commission’s public consultations.

　Empirical findings reveal that the European Commission’s purpose for recent reforms, including the inborn collective redress system, was to enhance the legitimacy of EU competition policy on input and output sides. In other words, the Commission intended to encourage consumers’ political participation while improving policy effectiveness in this area. The failure of the collective redress plan implies that the policy remains largely technocratic despite some other institutional and policy remedies. In conclusion, consumers are now involved in the policy-making and implementation process more deeply than before, yet the process is not as inclusive as the Commission had expected a decade ago.