Access to Key Transport Facilities

New entrants in transportation markets often require access to key infrastructure. Public policies about infrastructure access can, therefore, be a critical component of entry conditions. Such access can range from impractical to easy depending upon whether there are strong economies of vertical integration that could make it inefficient or risky to share use of the infrastructure with independent upstream or downstream suppliers. Maintaining efficient incentives for infrastructure investment should be a major consideration in developing essential facilities access policies or alternative remedies. Simply imposing a contractual obligation to offer equal access to transportation infrastructure could be insufficient to ensure equal access on reasonable terms if the owner of the essential facility has incentives and the ability to discriminate or to indirectly deny access to entrants and existing competitors. This document comprises proceedings in the original languages of a Roundtable on Competition to Ensuring Access to Key Capacity for New Entrants which was held by the Working Party n2 of the Competition Committee in February 2006.