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in accordance with the principle of equivalence and effectiveness. Therefore, national
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rules concerning damages claims in EU competition law are still valid, as long as they

comply with both principles. Therefore, it is uncertain whether the Member States are
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required to transpose the entire scope of undertakings formulated by the jurisprudence

of CJEU or not. In addition, the aim of the Damages Directive is not to ensure
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the complete harmonisation of private litigation but to eradicate hurdles which cause
difficulties for the possible claimants in action for damages. 32

Case C-724/17 Skanska

The case concerns the preliminary rulings requested by the Supreme Court of
Finland.

The Supreme Court was uncertain whether the person liable for the damages
claim in civil proceedings related to the infringement of the EU competition law is
to be determined directly by the application of Article 101 TFEU or by the domestic

law of each Member State, since “Finnish law does not lay down rules on the attribution
of liability for damage caused by an infringement of EU competition law in a situation

such as that at issue in the main proceedings.” 33
In his opinion, AG Wahl determined that the action for damages in EU

competition law has two-fold functions. The first one relates to the compensatory
function, ensuring that individuals are able to seek full compensation for any harm

29 Recital 11 of the Damages Directive, Ibid.
30 Caroline Cauffman, Civil law liability of parent companies for infringements of EU Competition Law
by their subsidiaries (2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3331083 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/
ssrn.3331083 a further elaboration of a contribution published in Dutch under the title ‘Het begrip “onderneming” in de
Kartelschaderichtlijn en de (mogelijke) impact op de civielrechtelijke aansprakelijkheid van moedervennootschappen
voor gedragingen van hun dochtervennootschappen naar Belgisch recht’ in N. Carette, & B. Weyts (eds.), Verantwoord
aansprakelijkheidsrecht: Liber amicorum Aloïs Van Oevelen, Antwerpen, Intersentia, 2017, 155-182
31 Caroline Cauffman, Civil law liability of parent companies for infringements of EU Competition Law
by their subsidiaries, Ibid, p.6-7
32 Niamh Dunne, The Role of Private Enforcement within EU Competition Law (2014) Cambridge Yearbook
of European Legal Studies , 2014, Vol. 16 Issue: 1, p.168-171; for example, the provisions concerning the bar of the
disclosure of leniency program, clarification of the pass-on defence and standing for indirect purchasers.
33 Case C-724/17 Skanska, supra (n.7), para 15

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