The Robert Schuman Centre at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence has hosted Annual EC Competition Law and Policy Workshop since 1996. Its fifth edition held on 2-3 June 2000 was devoted to the ongoing debate about the modernization of EC antitrust law enforcement. This publication includes a transcript of the discussions and a collection of the writings submitted by 33 participants at the Workshop. The Workshop concentrated on issues which the European Commission's White Paper for decentralizing enforcement of Article 81 (3) of the EC Treaty and ensuing discussions identified as particularly problematical and controversial. Proceedings were divided into following three sessions. Panel One was devoted to the three aspects of the reform such as its compatibility with the EC Treaty, its effects on the efficiency of EC anti-cartel enforcement, and its consequences for undertakings interested in legal security. Panel Two focused on risks that the reform entails for the coherent application of Article 81 of the EC Treaty. Panel Three concentrated on specific problems that the reform will generate for national judges who will become responsible for interpretation and application of Article 81 (3). The centralization of exemption power under Article 81 (3) of the EC Treaty in the hands of the Commission and corresponding notification requirements have raised various problems in enforcement. The Commission has never succeeded to manage its exemption monopoly. The debate on subsidiarity stimulated requests for abolition of the Commission's exemption monopoly in favor of national competition authorities (NCAs). Increase in the number of agents entrusted with the implementation of Article 81 (3) will lead to divergences in its interpretation and application. Some participants fear divergent decisions because of overlapping responsibilities of NCAs, the limited territorial effect of NCA decisions, multiple jurisdictions and forum shopping by private parties. The Commission suggests relying on two broad principles to minimize the risks resulting from radical decentralization of application of Article 81 (3). The first is co-operation within network of enforcement agencies formed by the Commission and the NCAs. The second is the principle of supremacy of EC law over national law. The risks of divergent decisions would be reduced if cases were attributed within the network of enforcement agencies, according to clear and transparent criteria. The Commission's intervention into cases pending before NCAs raise problems under principle of subsidiarity. The White Paper mainly concentrates on vertical co-operation between the Commission and NCAs. It hardly discusses horizontal co-operation among NCAs themselves. However, such horizontal co-operation is indispensable to efficient functioning of the network of enforcement agencies within the EU. The extent to which Article 81 pre-empts the application of national antitrust law is important for the possible reach of such national law in a new situation. The majority of participants expressed their overall support for the Commission's reform suggestion while critical remarks were also uttered. Thus, the Workshop was a contribution on long march to a new, modernized and more efficient enforcement system of EC antitrust law.