Abstract

The term public interest summarizes the non-competition goals generally referred to in order to expand or, on the contrary, to limit the enforcement of antitrust rules. Even in the context of E u competition law the issue is the subject of an ongoing debate, which the changes in the international scenario, the emergence of new requests for protection, and the recurrent systemic crises have recently rekindled. The paper aims at recapping the terms of this debate, also considering the case law as well as the latest legislative initiatives on the subject.