Antitrust law and the policy of supporting the development of small and medium enterprises

Abstract

The aim of the article is to deepen the still insufficient scientific reflection on the role of anti-trust law in the policy of supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Firstly, a synthetic picture of the evolution and current state of views on the issue of protecting SMEs as an objective of antitrust law was depicted. Then, the specificity of the SME definition in antitrust law is presented. The next part of the article is devoted to the impact of antitrust law on the development of SMEs, considered from the perspective of public and private enforcement of this law, and taking into account the dual situation of SMEs as its beneficiaries and infringers. The sum-mary indicates that although antitrust law and policies to support the development of SMEs should work together, this is not always the case. The position that antitrust law should not protect entrepre-neurs in a unique way just because they are small and unable to cope with competition from larger rivals, especially if it would be at the expense of consumers, was deemed worthy of recognition.