Interim measures: a remedy to deal with price gouging in the time of COVID-19?

Interim measures are cease-and-desist orders that can be issued when there is an imminent risk of serious and irreparable harm to competition. The adoption of the European Regulation 1/2003 has extended their scope to embrace the harm to competition, making it possible for the European Commission to seek interim relief, in case of harm to consumers. This gives the impression that interim measures are appropriate to deal with Coronavirus price gouging. However, this article will show that as interim measures currently stand, there are significant constraints on the ability of the European Commission to take interim measures in price gouging cases.