Vertical object restraints: Concurrence of wills, hardcore agreements and context in Case C-211/22 Super Bock Bebidas

Recently, the CJEU handed down an important ruling in Super Bock Bebidas, where it made three contributions to the case-law on vertical agreements and anti-competitive object. First, it revisited the question of vertical concurrence of wills, in particular the notion of tacit agreement. It held that it amounts to tacit acquiescence and, hence, it is an agreement, if the dealers comply with the producer's call; however, silence, in itself, implies no acceptance. Second, the Court addressed the status under Article 101(1) TFEU of restraints listed as hardcore in the block exemption regulations. It held that although the hardcore label may indicate serious competition concerns, it does not imply, at least not in itself, that the agreement is anti-competitive by object. Third, the Court clarified the role of context in object analysis and held that the legal and economic context has to be inspected also as to agreements that are specifically listed as anti-competitive by object in the case-law.