Alain Ronzano

On September 21, 2023, the European Parliament’s ECON Committee published the draft report by Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew Europe) on the European Parliament’s competition policy. The draft report is due to be adopted by the European Parliament in the coming months. The author of the report (...)

On September 14, 2023, the European Court of Justice handed down its ruling in case C-466/21 (Land Rheinland-Pfalz / Deutsche Lufthansa). Frankfurt-Hahn airport, located in Rhineland-Palatinate, some 115 km from Frankfurt am Main airport, and whose facilities are mainly used by Ryanair, the (...)

On September 13, 2023, the General Court of the EU handed down a judgment in case T-525/20 (ITD and Danske Fragtmænd v. European Commission) on the question of the imputability of State aid to the State. Following a complaint from a trade association grouping together companies active in the (...)

On September 13, 2023, the Criminal Division of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) handed down a ruling to be published in the Bulletin, concerning the conditions of application of the offence of unlawful taking of an interest under Article 432-13 of the French Criminal Code, (...)

On September 7, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a decision no. 23-D-08 in which it imposed penalties totaling 31,239,000 euros on six companies operating in the engineering, maintenance, dismantling and waste treatment services sector for nuclear sites in France, for cartel (...)

On September 7, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a decision no. 23-D-07 in which it declared inadmissible, pursuant to paragraph 1 of article L. 462-8 of the French Commercial Code, the complaint lodged by a small electricity supplier - the company E-Pango - alleging practices (...)

On September 6, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) issued a brief ruling on the burden of proof for passing on extra costs. The facts at the origin of the appeal again concern an action for damages brought by a distributor - Carrefour - against one (...)

In a ruling handed down on September 6, 2023, in the section of the chemical commodities case concerning horizontal practices revealed by leniency applications, the Commercial Division of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) partially quashed the ruling handed down on December 3, 2020 (...)

After receiving notifications by the July 3, 2023 deadline from seven companies - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (Tiktok), Meta, Microsoft and Samsung - having exceeded the thresholds set by Article 3 of the DMA, the Commission had 45 working days to designate access controllers subject to (...)

In a communiqué dated September 5, 2023 - which had escaped me - the Commission announced that President von der Leyen had granted unpaid leave to Executive Vice-President Vestager for the duration of her campaign for the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and that during the (...)

Following an investigation by the Antilles-Guyana interdepartmental competition brigade (BIEC), the DGCCRF has announced that it has put an end to a cartel between seven removal companies operating to and from Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The cartel was based on the classic and often (...)

On August 31, 2023, the French Competition Authority announced that it had taken note of the decision by the Euralis and Maïsadour groups (Delpeyrat and Comtesse du Barry) to withdraw their plans to create a joint venture in the duck fat sector. The transaction mainly concerned the markets (...)

On August 30, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Cour de cassation handed down a judgment - promised to be published in the Bulletin - in the compensation litigation that followed the condemnation, by decision no. 13-D-11 of May 14, 2013 of the French Competition Authority, of Sanofi for (...)

On August 30, 2023, the Autorité de la concurrence announced the appointment, effective September 4, 2023, of Nicolas Joncheray as Deputy Head of the Merger Department, Étienne Chantrel. Referendary at the Court of Justice of the European Union since 2019, Nicolas Joncheray replaces Géraldine (...)

1. General - Scope of application Digital Market Act - The DMA, a regulation offering uncertain remedies for poorly identified problems L. Schulz (Contrats, conc., consom. mai 2023, n° 5, étude 5) The regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market: a new tool in competition (...)

And that’s two! Following on from the finally prohibited merger between Illumina and Grail, a second sub-threshold merger will be examined by the European Commission. After inviting Member States to submit a referral request, on August 18, 2023 the Commission accepted requests from 15 EU (...)

Another example is decision no. 23-DCC-138 of July 27, 2023, in which the French competition authority unconditionally authorized CDC Habitat, a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, to take sole control of SEMAC, a semi-public company operating in Réunion, primarily in the (...)

Finally, we take note of two decisions with identical analyses and conclusions concerning the acquisition of exclusive control by Trigano of four distributors of new and used motorhomes in Brittany - decision no. 23-DCC-156 of July 26, 2023 - and of three distributors of new and used (...)

On July 25, 2023, the Commission announced that it had decided to open a formal investigation procedure to determine whether, in acquiring Lagardère, Vivendi had breached the notification and standstill obligations set out in the EU Merger Regulation, as well as the conditions and obligations (...)

On July 25, 2023, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) announced, as it has been authorized to do since the transposition of the ECN+ directive, that its general rapporteur had notified the Apple group of a grievance under which "Apple is accused of having abused its (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 11 new merger clearance decisions online, including 7 simplified decisions. These include decision no. 23-DCC-151 of July 25, 2023, under which the Autorité de la concurrence authorized, subject to commitments, the acquisition (...)

On July 20, 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority published its annual report for 2022.. In addition to the main achievements of 2022, the annual report includes the 2023 priority note as an appendix. After a profession of faith in the healthy and fair functioning of the market as the best (...)

On July 20, 2023, the New Caledonian Competition Authority issued a decision no. 2023-PAC-02 in which it sanctioned an exclusive import agreement, coupled with a cartel in the sector of imports of Asian food products (mochi, seaweed chips and Bubble Tea drinks). When a New Caledonian (...)

The pressure had become too much. So, in a tweet that Margrethe Vestager announced that Fiona Scott Morton was stepping down as the Commission’s Chief Competition Economist, with the Commission’s Executive Vice-President saying she accepted the decision with regret. In her undated letter to (...)

Since the appointment on July 11, 2023 of the American Fiona Scott Morton as Chief Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), with effect from September 1, 2023, a firestorm of criticism has descended on the Commission, notably from Paris, where Foreign Minister Catherine (...)

In a brief ruling handed down on July 18, 2023 (Thanks to Jamal Henni for the information), the 3rd chamber of the Conseil d’Etat declared itself incompetent to hear an application for annulment of the implicit decision of the Autorité’s general rapporteur rejecting the request to remove (...)

On July 13, 2023, the European Court of Justice delivered its long-awaited judgment in case C-376/20 (European Commission v. CK Telecoms UK Investments).in which the Commission challenged the conclusions reached by the European Court of First Instance on May 28, 2020 in itsjudgment in Case (...)

On July 13, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down two judgments in cases C-757/21 (Nichicon Corporation v. European Commission) and C-759/21 (Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation v. European Commission). In it, it dismissed the appeals brought by two Japanese producers of (...)

On July 13, 2023, the European Court of Justice handed down a judgment in joined cases C-73/22 and C-77/22 (Grupa Azoty and others v. European Commission). In this case, companies active in the manufacture of nitrogen products and fertilizers brought actions for the annulment of Annex I to (...)

On July 13, 2023, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella delivered his conclusions in joined cases C-693/21 (EDP España v. Naturgy Energy Group) and C-698/21 (Naturgy Energy Group v. European Commission), following the lodging of two appeals seeking annulment of thejudgment delivered on (...)

In a ruling handed down on July 13, 2023 (Thanks to Jamal Henni for the information), the Lyon Administrative Court of Appeal issued a follow-on ruling in the long-running vertical road signage case, which, as you will recall, led to a decision by the French Competition Authority to impose (...)

Le 12 juillet 2023, la Commission européenne a annoncé qu’elle avait infligé une amende de 432 millions d’euros à illumina pour gun-jumping, soit, sauf erreur, la plus forte sanction prononcée en Europe pour la réalisation anticipée d’une opération de concentration. Pour justifier le niveau (...)

On July 11, 2023, the European Commission appointed Fiona Scott Morton Chief Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), effective September 1, 2023, where she will replace Pierre Régibeau, in post since July 2019. Fiona Scott Morton, an American citizen, currently holds (...)

On July 11, 2023, Chairman Cœuré presented the Autorité de la concurrence’s annual activity report to the press, for the year 2022, the fourteenth since the institution was founded. This year’s title, modest as usual, is: "Taking care of the future"... At this press conference, he apparently (...)

With a view to the entry into force of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) on July 12, 2023, and in anticipation of the first notifications to be made from October 12, 2023, the European Commission adopted on July 10, 2023 its "implementation" package for the application of the FSR (...)

Noting the combined effects of the Covid-19 health crisis and the energy crisis following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine on regional airports facing falling revenues and rising costs, at the risk of leading to the closure of some of them, which in turn could have a negative impact on (...)

On July 7, 2023, the French Competition Authority adopted two opinions - n° 23-A-09 and n° 23-A-10 - under the terms of which it proposes, in application of the 2015 Macron law, to the Ministers of Justice and the Economy maps of installation zones for judicial commissioners and notaries (...)

On March 31, 2023, pending a decision on the merits of the case, the Polynesian Competition Authority, considering that the conditions for serious and immediate harm to the mobile telephony sector in the islands of the "remote archipelagos" (Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquises, Australes) had been (...)

On July 6, 2023, Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal handed down another ruling following an appeal by Adrexo against decision no. 21-D-22 of September 15, 2021 of the Autorité de la Concurrence (French Competition Authority) which, ruling on its referral concerning practices implemented (...)

On July 4, 2023, the European Court of Justice handed down its judgment in case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms Inc. and others v. Bundeskartellamt).in response to a request for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf concerning the decision of the Bundeskartellamt prohibiting the (...)

In a decision handed down on July 3, 2023the 3rd and 8th joint chambers of the Conseil d’Etat confirmed in all respects the Autorité de la concurrence’s decision no. 20-DCC-72 of May 26, 2020 authorizing Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH), subject to structural and behavioral commitments, to take (...)

On June 29, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down a judgment in Case C-211/22 (Super Bock Bebidas SA and others v. European Commission).following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Lisbon Court of Appeal concerning the application of minimum resale prices set by (...)

On June 29, 2023, the European Court of Justice handed down a judgment in state aid case C-763/21 (TUIfly GmbH v. European Commission). concerning measures granted by Austria to Klagenfurt airport, as well as to Ryanair, TUIfly and other airlines using the airport. It dismisses the appeal (...)

On the very day that the Council of the European Union announced that it had reached an agreement with the European Parliament in the trialogue on the Data Act regulation, which includes important developments on cloud services, the French Competition Authority issued its opinion no. 23-A-08 (...)

Formally adopted on June 9, 2022, the annual report for 2022 of the Competition Authority of New Caledonia was published online on June 26, 2023. In it, the ACNC reviews its activities for 2022 and analyzes its decision-making practice. The 189-page document describes the institution’s (...)

In a ruling handed down on June 28, 2023In rejecting the appeal lodged by the Chairman of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence), the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) brought to a close the dispute between the main French banks and the (...)

On June 28, 2023, Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal handed down a judgment as part of follow-on proceedings to decision no. 17-D-20 of October 18, 2017 of the French Competition Authority adopted in the so-called resilient flooring case. Following the Autorité’s decision to award 302 (...)

In a order issued on June 28, 2023the Magistrate delegated by the First President of the Paris Court of Appeal (Pôle 5 - Chamber 15), hearing an appeal against the order issued on September 28, 2022 by the "juge des libertés et de la détention" of the Paris Judicial Court authorizing, on the (...)

The DGCCRF has struck again. It has fined three companies a total of 78,250 euros for agreeing to divide up contracts in public calls for tenders relating to collective sanitation (connecting homes to the networks).. Two of the protagonists formed a temporary consortium, which proved to be (...)

On April 20, 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (ABC) indicated that, in the context of the investigation opened on March 22, 2023 into a possible abuse of a dominant position by Proximus as a result of its acquisition of EDPnet, a transaction below the thresholds and the first (...)

On June 22, 2023, the European Court of Justice handed down its judgment in state aid case C-163/22 (Gmina Miasto Gdynia and Port Lotniczy Gdynia Kosakowo v. European Commission). In it, the Court dismisses in its entirety the appeal brought against thejudgment delivered, on reference after (...)

In the last few hours, Margrethe Vestager has announced her candidacy her candidacy for the presidency of the European Investment Bank. "I am pleased that the Danish government has put forward my name as a possible candidate for the position of President of the European Investment Bank. I (...)

In recent days, the French Competition Authority has posted 15 new merger clearance decisions online, including 14 simplified decisions. These include decision no. 23-DCC-116 of June 19, 2023 in which the Autorité de la concurrence unconditionally authorized the acquisition of exclusive (...)

Further increase in the number of penalties imposed by the Minister under the injunction-transaction power granted to him by article L. 464-9 of the French Commercial Code. On June 16, 2023, the DGCCRF made public two new cases involving local PACs, for which the total amount of penalties is (...)

On June 16, 2023, Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal published thejudgment adopted the day before, on June 15, 2023.on the appeal lodged by La toque angevine (LTA) and its two parent companies, LDC traiteur and LDC SA, against decision no. 21-D-09 of March 24, 2021 in which the Autorité (...)

Effective June 12, 2023, David Dubois has been appointed Deputy to the Head of the Mergers Department, Étienne Chantrel. He will work alongside Anne-Sophie Delhaise and Géraldine Rousset, also deputies. He succeeds Sara Darley. For further information, please refer to , the French (...)

In decision no. 23-DCC-117 of June 15, 2023, the Autorité de la concurrence also authorized the acquisition of exclusive control of the SBE group by Cordon Group, both of which mainly offer repair and renovation services for mobile telephony products and consumer electrical goods, without (...)

On June 14, 2023, the European Union General Court handed down a judgment in case T-79/21 (Ryanair DAC and others v. European Commission) concerning marketing services contracts entered into between 2010 and 2017 by the Association de promotion des flux touristiques et économiques (APFTE) and (...)

On June 14, 2023, the European Court of First Instance handed down a judgment in case T-585/20 (Polwax S.A. v. European Commission). It dismissed the action brought by Polwax S.A., a Polish company producing and marketing kerosene waxes and paraffin-based products, against the decision of (...)

On June 14, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a decision no. 23-D-06 in which it fined three companies a total of €174,000, following inspections and seizures and an investigation report forwarded by the DGCCRF, for having engaged in two cartel practices in connection with the (...)

On June 13, 2023, the DGCCRF made public two micro-PAC cases. Firstly, it put an end to a cartel between cabs in the Rennes conurbation by imposing a fine of 52,000 euros on the GIE that had served as the cartel’s backbone. In the case in point, the cab association in question, which (...)

During the discussion on first reading of the draft law on the orientation and programming of the Ministry of Justice 2023-2027, the Senate adopted, during the public session, an amendment n° 212 rect. presented by eight senators, introducing into article 19 of the text the principle of (...)

Two judgments in the cases 2301405 and 2301407the Poitiers Administrative Court declined jurisdiction to hear a dispute concerning the starting point for calculating statutory interest on the principal sum, as well as the capitalization of this interest, following a decision by the Paris Court (...)

On June 8, 2023, Advocate General Juliane Kokott presented her conclusions in case C-457/21 (Commission/Amazon.com and others). Despite an error made, in her view, by the General Court with regard to the reference system used to examine the possible existence of a selective advantage, (...)

On June 7, 2023, the European Court of First Instance handed down a judgment in case T-322/22 (Unsa Énergie v. European Commission). In it, he dismissed the appeal lodged by the French employees’ union UNSA Energie against the Commission’s decision of April 8, 2022, rejecting its complaint (...)

In a decision handed down on June 7, 2023to be published in the Bulletin, the Commercial Chamber of the Cour de cassation has essentially confirmed the findings made on November 24, 2021 by Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal in the Follow-on case of the dairy products cartel sanctioned (...)

Things are becoming clearer. While the Commission must designate gatekeepers by September 6, 2023, these companies will then have six months from their designation to comply with the list of obligations and prohibitions set out in articles 5, 6 and 7 of the DMA. To this end, and in accordance (...)

A few days before the Foreign Subsidies Regulation comes into force on July 12, 2023, and in anticipation of the imminent adoption of its implementing regulation, the Commission published on June 6, 2023 a fifteen Q&A on some of the most frequently asked questions about the Foreign (...)

On June 7, 2023, the French Competition Authority published a avis n° 23-A-07 du 2 juin 2023 concerning the operation of the French real estate brokerage market. 53 years after the entry into force of the Hoguet law, which regulates the conditions under which certain real estate and business (...)

One month before their entry into force on July 1, 2023, the European Commission adopted, on June 1, 2023, a revised version of its horizontal restrictions package including the block exemption regulation applicable to R&D agreements.the block exemption regulation applicable to (...)

On July 5, 2023, the French Competition Authority published a opinion no. 23-A-06 issued on May 30, 2023 at the request of the French Minister for the Economy, in response to pressure from the Association française des industries des produits de construction (AIMCC), which represents 7,000 (...)

On May 25, 2023, Advocate General Priit Pikamäe delivered his Opinion in Case C-831/21 (Fachverband Spielhallen eV, LM v. European Commission). concerning the question of whether the tax treatment of public casino operators in Germany prior to 2020 constituted state aid. Under German casino (...)

By decree of the President of the Republic dated May 25, 2023published in the Journal officiel of May 27, 2023, Camille Chaserant, senior lecturer, has been appointed member of the College of the Autorité de la concurrence as a qualified person in charge of specific missions relating to the (...)

See also decision no. 23-DCC-99 of May 25, 2023 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the Daher Group’s acquisition of exclusive control of the Assistance aéronautique et aérospatiale group. The parties are simultaneously active in the markets for the supply of (...)

On May 24, 2023, the General Court of the European Union handed down two judgments incase T-451/20 (Meta Platforms Ireland v. European Commission) and incase T-452/20 (Meta Platforms Ireland v. European Commission).. In it, he dismissed in their entirety, and in much the same terms, the (...)

On May 24, 2023, the European Court of First Instance handed down a new ruling in the saga of aid granted by Member States to their national airlines to cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 health crisis. The judgment was delivered in case T-268/21 (Ryanair v. European Commission).. (...)

Stéphane Retterer, the new president of the Autorité de la concurrence de la Nouvelle-Calédonie (ACNC), along with vice-president Nadège Meyer and general rapporteur Sophie Charlot, unveiled the institution’s roadmap for 2023-2024. For this year and the next, ACNC has decided to defend four (...)

In recent days, the French Competition Authority has posted 3 new merger clearance decisions online, including 1 simplified decision. These three decisions include decision no. 23-DCC-98 of May 24, 2023 in which the French Competition Authority authorized EDF to take exclusive control of the (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

On May 17, 2023, the General Court of the European Union handed down a series of eleven judgments following actions for annulment brought by eleven local or regional suppliers of electricity generated from both conventional and renewable energy sources, against the decision of February 26, (...)

While it is appropriate, in the case of a sudden termination of an established commercial relationship, to assess the period of notice required, taking into account the duration of the commercial relationship and other circumstances, the Court of Appeal violates Article L. 442-6, I, 5° of the (...)

On May 17, 2023, Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal handed down a judgment as part of follow-on proceedings to Autorité decision no. 13-D-12 of May 28, 2013 in one of the so-called "chemical commodities distribution" cases under which it had sanctioned several companies for a dual (...)

So it took almost six months to find a successor to Virginie Beaumeunier... The lucky one is Sarah Lacoche. Educated at Sciences-Po Lille, Inspectrice Générale des Finances, she had been Director of the Finance Department at Banque des Territoires since 2020, after a brief stint with Groupe (...)

In recent days, the French Competition Authority has posted 12 new merger clearance decisions online, including 11 simplified decisions. These include decision no. 23-DCC-77 of May 16, 2023 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized RATP and Caisse des Dépôts et (...)

On May 10, 2023, the General Court of the European Union handed down a judgment in joined cases T-34/21 (Ryanair v. European Commission) and T-87/21 (Condor Flugdienst v. European Commission).. The Court of First Instance annulled the decision of June 25, 2020 by which the Commission (...)

The Tenth Chamber of the European Court of First Instance reached precisely the same conclusion ona judgment delivered on the same day, May 10, 2023, in case T-238/21 (Ryanair DAC v. European Commission).reached the same conclusion, namely that the Commission’s decision of August 17, 2020 (...)

On May 10, 2023, the European Court of First Instance handed down three similarly worded judgments concerning support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, and more specifically the various amendments made to the original (...)

What is the starting point of the statute of limitations for an action in tort brought by a public entity against the perpetrators of anti-competitive practices when the public entity’s directors have, in their capacity as directors, been closely involved in these practices? In particular, (...)

On May 5, 2023, the European Commission launched a public consultation until June 5, 2023 on a proposal to extend the application of the to extend by three years until April 2027 the application of the 2014 guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines, which allow member states to grant (...)

On May 5, 2023, the French Competition Authority indicated that, as part of the sector inquiry it launched in February 2023 in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure (IRVE) sector, a questionnaire to the main players in the sector in order to gather their responses, by June 5, 2023, on (...)

On May 4, 2023, Advocate General Juliane Kokott presented her conclusions in cases C-454/21 (Engie Global LNG Holding and others v. European Commission) and C-451/21 (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg v. European Commission). In it, it invites the Court of Justice of the Union to annul not only (...)

On May 4, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 23-MC-01 in which it issued interim measures against Meta (formerly Facebook Inc. until October 2021), which provides free services to Internet users via the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as the (...)

On June 13, 2023, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) published three in-depth review decisions online. Firstly, decision no. 23-DEX-02 of May 2, 2023 concerning the acquisition of exclusive control of Smartbox by Wonderbox, two historic and major specialist (...)

On April 27, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union delivered its judgment in the case (Casa Regina Apostolorum della Pia Società delle figlie di San Paolo v. European Commission). The Court of Justice concluded that the two grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant were both (...)

On April 27, 2023, Advocate General Anthony M. Collins presented his conclusions in case C-746/21 (Altice Group Lux Sàrl v. European Commission). It invites the Court of Justice to confirm in all respects thejudgment delivered on 22 September 2021 by the General Court of the European Union (...)

On April 20, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the case (Repsol Comercial de Productos Petrolíferos). on the reference for a preliminary ruling from the Commercial Court of Madrid. The dispute at the origin of the present reference for a preliminary (...)

On April 20, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in case C-815/21 (Amazon.com Inc. and others v. European Commission). As we recall, on November 10, 2020, the Commission announced that it had opened a formal investigation into Amazon’s business practices that may (...)

On April 20, 2023, the Commission adopted a package of measures aimed at simplifying its merger control procedures, including (i) the revised Merger Implementing Regulation together with the revised Form CO, the revised Short Form CO, the revised Form RS and the revised Form RM, (ii) the (...)

On April 20, 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) indicated that in the course of the investigation opened on March 22, 2023 concerning a possible abuse of a dominant position by Proximus as a result of the acquisition of edpnet, a transaction below the thresholds, and which (...)

On May 5, 2023, the Official Journal of the European Union published implementing regulation 2023/914 of April 20, 2023 implementing Council Regulation 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings and repealing Commission Regulation 802/2004. The regulations will come into (...)

After the Conseil d’État on May 10, 2023, it’s now the turn of the Autorité de la Concurrence (French competition authority). On May 11, 2023, the latter published its opinion no. 23-A-05 of April 20, 2023 concerning the draft law aimed at securing and regulating the digital space, or more (...)

Alors que le règlement de minimis relatif aux SIEG n° 360/20121 arrive à expiration le 31 décembre 2023, la Commission a dévoilé, le 19 avril 2023, son projet de règlement relatif à l’application des articles 107 et 108 du traité sur le fonctionnement de l’Union européenne aux aides de minimis (...)

On April 19, 2023, the Polynesian Competition Authority (PCA) presents its roadmap for 2023. In summary, APC will continue to deploy its action around several thematic objectives aimed at encouraging the proper competitive operation of network industries, particularly in telecoms (mobile (...)

On April 25, 2023, the French Competition Authority published a decision n° 23-D-05 of April 18, 2023 in which it sanctioned two vertical agreements within the same distribution network - the manufacturer of the machines, the company Bongard and its mothers, the Bongard Dealers Association (...)

On April 17, 2023, the Commission announced that it was extending the automotive block exemption regulation by five years - This will allow the Commission to react in a timely manner to market developments related to the digitization of vehicles, their electrification and new mobility (...)

In view of the expiry of the current rules on 30 April 2026, the European Commission launched on 17 April 2023 a public consultation running until July 24, 2023 to obtain feedback on the operation of the Technology Transfer Agreement Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) whereby one party allows (...)

By virtue of two decisions rendered on April 14, 2023 in the cases n°s 436434 et seq. and n°s 436439 and followingthe Conseil d’Etat ruled that the monopoly granted to La Française des Jeux on certain gaming segments, even if it restricts the economic activity of other players in the sector, (...)

On April 13, 2023, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Paris rendered three decisions concerning appeals against ex ante authorization decisions for the creation or extension of retail spaces rendered respectively by the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC) and by the Polynesian (...)

On April 13, 2023, the French Competition Authority made public a decision n° 23-D-04 adopted on April 12, 2023The decision sanctioned joint pricing and customer allocation practices that were more than 33 years old (pt. 126) and that were brought to the attention of the European and French (...)

On April 7, 2023, the Authority issued a opinion n° 23-A-03 on freedom of establishment and recommendations for the creation of lawyers’ offices in the Council of State and the Court of Cassation. This is the fourth opinion given to the Minister of Justice on this issue. Since 2016, ten (...)

On April 5, 2023, the first president of the Paris Court of Appeal issued two orders, one, very interesting, concerning the conduct of the search and seizure operations, and the other one, more classical, concerning theauthorization of these operations. This dispute follows the order of June (...)

On April 4, 2023, the European Commission released the Annual Report on Competition Policy for 2022, which marks the 52nd edition of the Competition Policy Report. As in previous years, the 2023 issue is presented in the form of a main document of 31 pagescontaining the main orientations of (...)

On April 4, 2023, the Commission published a update of the state aid guidance templates for state aid to help Member States design measures in their National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRPs) that further contribute to the implementation of the Green Deal for Europe, while helping to end (...)

Considering that the conditions for the existence of a serious and immediate harm to the mobile telephony sector in the islands of the "remote archipelagos" (Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquises, Australes) are met, the Polynesian Competition Authority adopted on March 31, 2023, pending a decision on (...)

In recent days, the French Competition Authority has posted 34 new merger clearance decisions online, including 33 simplified decisions. These include decision no. 23-DCC-60 of March 30, 2023 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition of exclusive (...)

On March 29, 2023, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-142/21 (Wizz Air Hungary v. European Commission). It rejects in its entirety the action brought by the airline Wizz Air Hungary against the Commission’s decision of August 20, 2020 approving the aid (...)

On March 27, 2023, the Commission announced an "Article 102 TFEU package" to take into account market developments and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, but also its own decision-making practice. First, the Commission updates its 2008 guidance on enforcement priorities (...)

On March 24, 2023, the DGCCRF published a communication relating to anti-competitive practices identified in the sector of publishing and distribution of furnishing fabricsThe DGCCRF has put an end to a vertical cartel practice of absolute prohibition of resale on the Internet, following the (...)

On 23 March 2023 Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his Opinion in Case C-11/22 (Est Wind Power OÜ v AS Elering)which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tallinn Administrative Court in Estonia on the decision before it by which the Estonian Renewable Energy Support (...)

Following the agreement reached on March 15, 2023 in the Joint Committee on the provisions remaining under discussion of the bill to strengthen the balance in commercial relations between suppliers and distributors, known as the "Descrozaille bill", named after its author, the text thus (...)

By way of a decision rendered on March 22, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation censured the order of the First President of the Paris Court of Appeal of May 12, 2021, in which the delegate of the First President declared that he did not have jurisdiction to rule on the (...)

It did not take long before the Towercast jurisprudence found its first practical application. On March 22, 2023, less than a week after the European Court of Justice adopted its landmark judgment in Case C-449/21 (Towercast) in which it stated that a merger that does not meet the thresholds (...)

On March 22, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued two rulings applying competition rules. In the first case on appeal n° 21-25.79373,254 as compensation for the competitive loss it suffered as a result of the violation of this exclusive distribution right by the (...)

On March 22, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued two rulings applying competition rules. As for the second case on appeal No. 21-20.331It concerns alleged denigration and anti-competitive agreements in the sector of company and community crèches. Companies (...)

On March 20, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 23-D-03 concerning practices implemented in the sector of securing tobacco outlets in the Hauts-de-France and Île-de-France regions. The present decision was adopted following an investigation by the Interregional (...)

On March 16, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its long-awaited judgment in case C-449/21 (Towercast)which follows the request for a preliminary ruling made by the Paris Court of Appeal on July 21, 2021. In a judgment - important and subtly argued - delivered on July 1, (...)

On March 16, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-127/21 (American Airlines Inc. v. European Commission). In it, the Court dismissed the appeal filed by American Airlines against the judgment of the European Union General Court of 16 December 2020The (...)

On March 16, 2023, Advocate General Anthony M. Collins presented his conclusions in joined cases C-508/21 (European Commission v. Dansk Erhverv) and C-509/21 (Interessengemeinschaft der Grenzhändler (IGG) v. Dansk Erhverv, European Commission)which raise a new issue, namely whether the (...)

One joint committee can hide another... On March 15, 2023, the Joint Committee responsible for proposing a text on the provisions remaining under discussion of the bill, amended by the Senate, to strengthen the balance in commercial relations between suppliers and distributors, known as the (...)

On March 9, 2023, the Paris Commercial Court issued an interesting judgment on the issue of compensation, in particular on the question of the statute of limitations. This judgment is partly in line with decision n° 16-D-14 of June 23, 201669,243,000 for the abuse of Umicore’s dominant (...)

On March 9, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down three judgments - in substantially identical terms - in the cases C-682/20 (Les Mousquetaires SAS and ITM Entreprises SAS v. European Commission)C-690/20 (Casino, Guichard-Perrachon SA and Achats Marchandises Casino SAS (...)

On March 9, 2023, the European Commission released two major initiatives to accelerate investment and financing of clean technology production in Europe. The first is the targeted amendment of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) and the adoption of a new temporary crisis and (...)

On March 9, 2023, the European Commission released two major initiatives to accelerate investment and financing of clean technology production in Europe. The first is the targeted amendment of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) and the adoption of a new temporary crisis and (...)

In a ruling issued on March 9, 2023the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal has essentially confirmed the decision n° 21-D-05 of the French Competition Authority of March 4, 2021 relating to practices implemented in the sector of technical management of the buildings of Lille metropole (...)

On the same day, March 9, 2023, the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued another judgment on appeal against decision n° 22-D-04 of February 2, 2022 relating to practices implemented in the intercommunal hospital medical transport sector in the Val d’Ariège and Pays d’Olmes, in a (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

By decree of the President of the Republic dated March 6, 2023 published in the JORF dated March 7, 2023, Mr. Walid Chaiehloudj professor of private law, has been appointed a member of the College of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence), as one of the qualified (...)

On March 2, 2023, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos presented his conclusions in case C-331/21 (Autoridade da Concorrência and EDP)following a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Lisbon Court of Appeal. At the root of this case is a partnership agreement between EDP (Energias de (...)

It will be recalled that in a decision rendered on June 17, 2020the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal, overturning the judgment of the Commercial Court of December 18, 2017, ordered SA Orange Caraïbe and SA Orange to pay to SA Digicel Antilles Françaises Guyane (formerly Bouygues (...)

By a decision of March 1, 2023the Competition Authority of New Caledonia has sanctioned the company New Smart Vibes Import (NSVI) for having benefited from exclusive import rights on disposable electronic cigarettes of the brand Maskking, contrary to the provisions of Article Lp. 421-2-1 of (...)

On March 1, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a further judgment in the field of compensation litigation, which, it seems, was only published online on March 8, 2023. Although it is not intended to be published in the Bulletin, unlike the Digicel decision of the (...)

On February 21, 2023, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation issued an important ruling which will be published in the Bulletin, concerning the litigation regarding the conduct of inspections and seizures authorized on the basis of article L. 450-4 of the French Commercial Code in (...)

On February 16, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union issued its judgment in case C-312/21 (Tráficos Manuel Ferrer S.L., Ignacio v. Daimler AG) following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Comercio 3 de Valencia in Spain. Again, with respect to indemnity actions, it is (...)

In a decision rendered on February 16, 2023 (RG n° 20/14632) the Regulatory Division of the Paris Court of Appeal, in upholding the appeal lodged by Novartis and Roche laboratories, as well as by the latter’s subsidiary Genentech, declared the total reversal of the decision n° 20-D-11 444 (...)

On February 15, 2023, the French Competition Authority issued a brief but very interesting decision n° 23-D-01 relating to the request for review of the injunctions issued against Interflora by the decision of the Minister of the Economy No. 86-4/DC of February 6, 1986 and the decision of the (...)

In recent weeks, the French Competition Authority has posted 51 new merger clearance decisions online, including 48 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 23-DCC-32 of February 14, 2023 in which the French Competition Authority authorized, subject to commitments, the (...)

On January 31, 2023, the Constitutional Council held the hearing concerning the QPC n° 2022-1035 which concerns the conformity with the Constitution of article L. 464-2, I, paragraph 1, second sentence, of the French Commercial Code, which provides that the Competition Authority may accept (...)

There are decisions of the Constitutional Council declaring a provision to be in conformity with the Constitution that give the companies that initiated the QPC, if not complete satisfaction, at least satisfaction on the essential point. This is the case of decision n° 2022-1035 QPC rendered (...)

As part of the investigation of the proposed acquisition of Smartbox by Wonderbox in the gift voucher sector, which has not yet been formally notified, the French Competition Authority, which is considering the possible effects of this transaction on the various markets concerned, is currently (...)

In a decision issued on February 10, 2023 the Conseil d’Etat ruled that the national administrative judge does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal against the decision of the French Competition Authority to refer a merger below the thresholds to the European Commission, regardless of the (...)

Following the publication in the Official Journal dated March 2, 2023 of decree n° 2023-146 of March 1, 2023 on the code of ethics for lawyers at the Council of State and the Court of Cassation, the French Competition Authority published on March 10, 2023 the opinion n° 23-A-02 issued one (...)

On February 8, 2023, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-522/20 (Carpatair v. European Commission). In it, he pronounces the annulment of the decision of the Commission of 24 February 2020, concerning State aid implemented by Romania for Timișoara (...)

On February 8, 2023, the Court of First Instance of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-538/21 (Penya Barça Lyon: More than just supporters (PBL) and WA v. European Commission). In it, the Court of First Instance dismissed the action brought by a "socio" (member) of Barcelona (...)

A few days after the entry into force, on January 12, 2023, of the regulation on foreign subsidies, which aims to remedy the distortions caused by subsidies granted by non-EU countries, in the context of merger control, public procurement procedures or any other market situation, and in view (...)

On February 2, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union issued its judgment in the joined cases C-649/20 (Spain v. European Commission), C-658/20 (Lico Leasing and Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión v. European Commission) and C-662/20 (Caixabank and Others v. European (...)

By judgment delivered on February 2, 2023, the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal declared the appeal lodged by Gaz de Bordeaux and its successive parent companies, Régaz-Bordeaux and Bordeaux Métropole Energies, against the decision n° 22-D-17 in which the Authority fined Gaz de (...)

In a judgment delivered on February 1, 2023 which will be published in the Bulletin, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation has dismissed in its entirety the appeal lodged by the Ordre des Architectes against thejudgment rendered on October 15, 2020 by the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris (...)

The Commission announced on February 1, 2023 that it had sent to the Member States for consultation a draft proposal to extend by two years, until December 31, 2025, the temporary crisis framework designed to support the economy in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine by transforming it (...)

On February 1, 2023, the French Competition Authority launched two public consultations until March 2, 2023, with a view to drafting two new opinions on the freedom of establishment of notaries and judicial commissioners and to proposing a revision of the maps adopted in 2021. On this (...)

On January 31, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the State aid case C-284/21 (European Commission v. Anthony Braesch and others). It follows the appeal lodged by the Commission, in which it sought the annulment of the judgment of the European Court of (...)

It will be recalled that the European Court of First Instance confirmed for the first time, in two judgments handed down on April 14, 2021 in the cases T-378/20 and T-379/20 the legality of individual aid measures adopted in response to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic under Article (...)

On January 25, 2023, the General Court of the Union issued a judgment in case T-640/16 RENV (GEA Group AG v. European Commission). It will be recalled that in 2009, the Commission imposed fines of €173 million on ten producers of heat stabilizers for fixing prices, sharing customers, (...)

On January 25, 2023, the Court of First Instance of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-666/21 (Società Navigazione Siciliana SCpA v. European Commission). It dismissed the action brought by Società Navigazione Siciliana SCpA, the applicant, seeking partial annulment of the (...)

In a judgment rendered on January 23, 2023 in a case between Carrefour and L’Oréal (RG n°2021037634) the 15th Chamber of the Commercial Court of Paris was called upon to rule on the application to the case in question of a new cause of action interrupting the statute of limitations for (...)

On January 19, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in case C-680/20 (Unilever Italia Mkt. Operations Srl v Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Italian Council of State. This reference for a preliminary (...)

On January 19, 2022, the DGCCRF published a communication relating to anti-competitive practices identified in public road transport contracts in the Saône-et-Loire department The DGCCRF has sanctioned two companies, the first for €82,500 and the second for €59,000, for having entered into an (...)

In recent days, the Paris Court of Appeal has handed down two rulings, on January 19, 2023, the withdrawal of the appeal filed by Google against the decision of the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la Concurrence) No. 21-D-17 of July 12, 2021, which sanctioned the companies in the (...)

On January 18, 2023, the Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation to determine whether certain French support measures for Fret SNCF comply with EU state aid rules. From 2007 to 2019, Fret SNCF has seen its losses continuously covered by its parent company SNCF (...)

On January 12, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in case C-57/21 (RegioJet a.s.) following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Czech Supreme Court. The present case raises the question of the production of evidence in the files of the authorities (...)

On January 12, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-883/19 (HSBC Holdings and others v. European Commission). It will be recalled that following a leniency application by Barclays Bank in 2011, the Commission imposed, in a decision issued on December (...)

On January 12, 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-42/21 (Lietuvos geležinkeliai AB v. European Commission). The Court of First Instance dismissed the appeal lodged by Lietuvos geležinkeliai AB (LG), seeking the annulment of the judgment of 18 (...)

On January 12, 2023, the Court of Justice of the Union delivered its judgment in the joined cases C-702/20 (Dobeles Hes) and C-17/21 (GM). This case arises from a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Latvian Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU in relation to (...)

On January 11, 2023, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a very interesting decision on the application of restrictive practices law to subcontracts, to be published in the Bulletin. And this, on the double appeal of the Minister of the Economy and the company he wanted (...)

On January 10, 2023, the European Commission launched a public consultation until April 24, 2023 to solicit comments on its draft guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in agriculture. It will be recalled that, as part of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027, (...)

On January 9, 2023, the Commission announced that it was expanding the scope of its anonymous whistleblower tool to include merger control and state aid control, so that it will be able to be informed anonymously of all types of possible infringements of EU competition rules. The Commission (...)

On January 9, 2023, the DGCCRF made public four "old" micro-PAC cases, which it had kept under wraps while awaiting the adoption of the decree taken in application of article 20 of law n° 2022-1158 of August 16, 2022 which was to provide a legal basis for the publication of injunctions and (...)

On December 22, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-d-26 in which, following a request from the Minister of the Economy based on an investigation report by the Antilles-Guyane Interregional Competition Investigation Brigade (BIEC), it sanctioned the company Contrôle (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 21 new merger clearance decisions online, including 19 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-254 of December 22, 2022 in which the Parfait group, which already operated three hypermarkets under the (...)

On December 21, 2022, the European Court of First Instance handed down two judgments in identical terms in the cases T-260/21 (E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. v. European Commission) and T-306/21 (Falke KGaA v. European Commission). In both cases, distributors active in both physical and online (...)

On December 21, 2022, the European Court of First Instance also issued a judgment in a case T-525/21 (E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. v. European Commission) on a further action by the company E. Breuninger GmbH & Co. distributors active in both physical and online ("click & mortar") (...)

On December 21, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-626/20 (Landwärme GmbH v. European Commission). On April 1, 2020, the Kingdom of Sweden notified the European Commission of its intention to amend and extend until December 31, 2030 two aid schemes that (...)

On January 21, 2023, the decision of December 21, 2022 amending the rules of procedure of the Competition Authority was published in the Official Gazette No. 0018. The main contribution of this decision is to integrate into the Authority’s rules of procedure the possibility, from now on, for (...)

On September 20, 2022, on the basis of Article 9, § 1, of Regulation 1/2003, the Commission terminated two proceedings initiated against two self-preferential practices implemented by Amazon by making legally binding the two series of commitments made by the platform, on the one hand, (...)

In a ruling issued on December 20, 2022 the interim relief judge of the Conseil d’Etat refused to suspend the execution of the decision of September 8, 2022 of the French Competition Authority approving Phoenix Tower International (PTI) as purchaser of the assets that Cellnex undertook to sell (...)

On December 19, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-25 In this decision, it dismissed the complaint filed by four doctors practicing radiotherapy and benefiting from access to the technical platform of the Ris-Orangis Radiotherapy Center (CRRO), under the terms of (...)

On December 15, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the State aid case C-470/20 (Veejaam and Espo) which follows a request for a preliminary ruling by the Estonian Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article 108(3) TFEU, Article 1(c) of Regulation (EU) (...)

On December 15, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union also issued a judgment in another state aid case, Case C-23/22 (Caxamar) which follows a request for a preliminary ruling by the Portuguese Tax Tribunal in a dispute between Caxamar and the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority) regarding (...)

On December 15, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos presented his conclusions in case C-333/21 (European Superleague v. UEFA and FIFA) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Commercial Court of Madrid in a high-profile dispute between the Fédération Internationale de (...)

On December 14, 2022, the Court of First Instance of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-126/20 (Autoridad Portuaria de Bilbao v. European Commission). The present dispute concerns the Commission’s recognition that the total exemption from corporation tax granted to the (...)

On 14 December 2022, the Commission adopted a package of measures concerning the revised rules on state aid to the agriculture and forestry sectors and on the other hand in favour of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. They aim to adapt the rules on state aid for these sectors to the (...)

Thanks to a decision rendered on December 14, 2022 (Thanks to Jamaj Henni for the information) in a dispute between SAS lekiosque.fr which distributes press titles in digital mode under the trade name Cafeyn, against the daily newspaper L’Équipe, concerning the conditions under which the (...)

In view of the expiry of the current rules on 31 December 2023, the Commission launched on 12 December 2022 a public consultation on the revision of the de minimis regulation for services of general economic interest (SGEI). Interested parties can send their contributions to the Commission (...)

At the end of 2022, the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC) published a very instructive opinion on the operation of the airline sector in New Caledonia. This opinion describes the functioning of the air transport sector in New Caledonia and underlines the market imperfections that (...)

On December 12, 2022, the European Commission adopted a revised notice on state aid for broadband networks the "Revised Broadband Guidelines" with their annexes. This revision takes into account technological, regulatory and market developments and reflects current EU policy priorities. The (...)

On December 9, 2022, the Commission launched a one-month public comment period through January 9, 2023 on its draft regulations implementing the Digital Markets Act. In anticipation of the DMA’s implementation on May 2, 2023, the draft implementing regulation details the procedural aspects (...)

On December 7, 2022, the General Court of the Union delivered its judgment in case T-130/21 (CCPL and others v. European Commission). In it, it dismissed the action brought by three companies of the CCPL group (Consorzio Cooperative di Produzione e Lavoro) against the decision issued on (...)

In a decision rendered on December 7, 2022 the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation referred to the Constitutional Council the question of the conformity with the Constitution of article L. 464-2, I, paragraph 1, second sentence, of the French Commercial Code, in the version in force (...)

In a judgment handed down on December 7, 2022 the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation has confirmed in all respects the delimitation of the relevant market made by the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal in the case of the acquisition of rights to original French-language (...)

It will be recalled that in Decision No. 15-D-09 of June 4, 2015 TDF made a series of commitments to make it easier for other TowerCo’s to offer mobile operators alternative hosting solutions for their mobile telephony equipment. For the risks of market foreclosure, TDF had undertaken: (i) to (...)

On December 5, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had issued a statement of objections to Illumina and Grail setting forth the measures necessary to unwind Illumina’s acquisition of Grail, following the prohibition of the transaction on September 6, 2022. Under Article 8(4) of (...)

On December 1, 2022, the European Commission published a staff working document summarizing the results of the evaluation launched in 2019 of the EU’s state aid rules for services of general economic interest (SGEI) in the area of services of general economic interest. summarizing the results (...)

By decision n° 22-D-23 rendered on December 1, 2022 the French Competition Authority rejected the complaint of a company operating a store under the "Paul" banner in the center of Nice, which accused the Leclerc group, whose stores are located on the outskirts of Nice, of having launched in (...)

On November 30, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-101/18 (Republic of Austria v. European Commission). In it, it confirms the decision of March 6, 2017 in which the Commission, after considering that investment aid for the construction of two new (...)

And that’s two! After a first referral from Canal Plus Group rejected on June 11, 2021 for lack of sufficient evidence, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) has just, in the case of the partial reallocation by the French Professional Football League (Ligue de Football (...)

On November 30, 2022, the Commission announced that it was opening an in-depth investigation into Vivendi’s proposed acquisition of Lagardère, raising concerns about the combination in book and magazine publishing. It is true that Vivendi (via Editis) and Lagardère (via Hachette) are major (...)

On November 29, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had fined five chemical companies €157 million for taking part in a cartel for the purchase of an intermediate chemical - styrene monomer - which is used as a key input for many other chemical products, such as plastics, resins, (...)

With the current Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER) set to expire on April 30, 2026, the Commission is launching the process this November 25, 2022 to decide whether to renew the current TTBER adopted in 2014, revise it, or let it expire. The first phase of this process (...)

In recent days, the Competition Authority has posted 8 new merger clearance decisions online, including 7 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision No. 22-DCC-226 of November 22, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the Caisse de dépôt et (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

On November 17, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in joined cases C-331/20 (Volotea v. European Commission) and C-343/20 (easyJet Airline v. European Commission). In order to reduce the seasonality of air routes by increasing the frequency of flights during (...)

On November 17, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in case C-578/21 (Irish Wind Farmers’ Association Clg and others v. European Commission). This case arose from a complaint by the Irish Wind Farmers’ Association (IWFA) about the way in which business property tax is (...)

On November 16, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-469/20 (Netherlands v. European Commission) concerning the decision of the Commission of May 12, 2020 by which it had authorized compensation for the early closure of a coal-fired power plant in the (...)

In a decision n° 22-D-21 issued on November 16, 2022 60,000 for a strictly local practice in Reunion Island, to the extent that EU law was not applied in this case (pt. 113). Seized in 2018 by two entities, including the Regional Committee of Maritime Fisheries and Marine Stockbreeding (...)

On November 22, 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court published online a judgment dated November 16, 2022 (Appeal No. 21-19.728) in a case opposing the company Orange to several companies of the Canal+ Group. In the judgment under appeal dated March 19, 2021, the Paris (...)

On December 14, 2022, the French Competition Authority made public a decision rendered one month earlier, on November 15, 2022, decision n° 22-D-20 in which it imposed a fine of EUR 800,000 on Audiens Santé Prévoyance (Audiens SP), a provident institution active in the sector of collective (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 17 new merger clearance decisions online, including 13 simplified decisions. These decisions include decision No. 22-DCC-216 of November 14, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized Séché (...)

On December 9, 2022, the French Competition Authority published decision n° 22-DCC-219 of November 14, 2022 in which it authorized, subject to behavioral commitments, the acquisition of sole control of Aleda by Française des Jeux FDJ, which has exclusive rights in France to organize and (...)

On November 10, 2022, the European Parliament adopted by a very large majority - 598 votes in favor, 5 against and 9 abstentions - a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. As a (...)

On November 10, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union delivered its judgment in case C-163/21 (AD and others v. PACCAR Inc, DAF TRUCKS NV and DAF Trucks Deutschland GmbH). Decidedly, the Commission’s decision sanctioning the truck cartel on July 19, 2016, but also the follow-on actions (...)

On November 10, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Case C-211/20 (European Commission v. Valencia Club de Fútbol and Spain) on the appeal lodged by the Commission against the judgment of the Court of First Instance adopted on March 12, 2020 in case (...)

On November 10, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in Case C-385/21 (Zenith Media Communications SRL, v. Consiliul Concurenţei) following a request for a preliminary ruling from the Romanian High Court of Cassation and Justice in a dispute between Zenith Media (...)

On November 10, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in case C-442/21 (ITD and Danske Fragtmænd v. European Commission). Post Danmark, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PostNord group, itself owned by Sweden (60%) and Denmark (40%), is the incumbent postal (...)

On November 9, 2022, the European Court of First Instance handed down four judgments in the cases T-655/19 (Ferriera Valsabbia and Valsabbia Investimenti v. European Commission), T-656/19 (Alfa Acciai v. European Commission), T-657/19 (Feralpi v. European Commission) and T-667/19 (Ferriere (...)

In its crusade against state aid granted to airlines to deal with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted through multiple complaints filed against Commission Covid-19 decisions, Ryanair has suffered a new setback in a Croatian case. Noting, with regard to the aid granted by (...)

On November 8, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the joined cases C-885/19 (Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe v. European Commission) and C-898/19 (Ireland v. European Commission) both concerning the advance tax ruling granted by the Luxembourg authorities to (...)

In anticipation of the adoption of a new market definition communication in the third quarter of 2023, the European Commission launched a public consultation on November 8, 2022 until January 13, 2023 on its draft revised market definition communication. Revised for the first time since its (...)

In a judgment issued on November 3, 2022 the Paris Court of Appeal ruled that the statement of voluntary intervention filed by EDF was inadmissible, following the appeal against the Competition Authority’s decision No. 22-D-03 of January 18, 2022 relating to practices implemented on the market (...)

On October 28, 2022, the European Commission adopted, following exchanges with Member States, a second amendment to the temporary crisis framework to allow them to continue to support the economy in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. First, the new framework, which applies (...)

On October 27, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-721/20 (DB Station & Service AG v. ODEG Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH) which follows a request for a preliminary ruling from the Higher Regional Court of Berlin on the interpretation of Article 102 (...)

In a judgment adopted on October 27, 2022 the Lyon Commercial Court issued what is believed to be the first French follow-on decision in the truck cartel case sanctioned by the European Commission on July 19, 2016 and September 27, 2017. Many companies in the Colas Group, which are active in (...)

As you will recall from the judgment handed down on October 27, 2022 In essence, the Lyon Commercial Court dismissed all of the Colas Group’s claims for an order that the manufacturers be jointly and severally liable for damages arising from the acquisition of trucks during the infringement (...)

On October 26, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered a judgment in case T-668/21 (Sicilia Regionale Marittima SpA - Siremar v. European Commission). It dismisses the action brought by an Italian shipping company, Siremar, one of the six companies of the state-owned Tirrenia (...)

It will be recalled that on October 5, 2022, the Commission had sent to the Member States for consultation a draft proposal to extend and adapt the temporary framework for state aid, adopted by the Commission on March 23, 2022 in order to allow Member States to use the flexibility provided by (...)

Is the European Commission trying to revive leniency programs? According to the Commission, this would be a great success: since 2006, leniency applicants have seen their fines reduced by 16 billion euros (10 billion euros for immunity applicants and 6 billion euros for fine reduction (...)

Bis repetita placent! One year after having given a favorable opinion on a decree providing for the extension for a period of 15 months of the three approvals already granted for unlimited access to the cinema, the Authority was once again asked to extend the duration of these same unlimited (...)

On October 20, 2022, Advocate General Juliane Kokott presented conclusions - particularly dense - in case C-376/20 (European Commission v. CK Telecoms UK Investments) in which the Commission challenges the conclusions reached by the European Court of First Instance on May 28, 2020 in the (...)

On October 20, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a brief decision n° 22-D-19 where the Authority applied for the first time the prerogative granted to it, following the transposition of the ECN+ Directive into French law by Order No. 2021-649 of May 26, 2021, in Article L. 462-8 of (...)

In a ruling issued on October 20, 2022 the Chamber of Economic and Financial Regulation (5-7) of the Paris Court of Appeal dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence, the appeal lodged against decision n° 21-D-04 of February 24, 2021 relating to practices in the sector of publishing and sale of (...)

On October 19, 2022, the General Court of the European Union handed down two judgments in similar terms in the cases T-850/19 (Hellenic Republic v. European Commission) and T-347/20 (Sogia Ellas AE v. European Commission) concerning measures implemented by the Hellenic Republic in the form of (...)

On October 19, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-582/20 (Ighoga Region 10 and others v. European Commission). In this case, an interest grouping of companies active in the management of hotels with conference facilities as well as the managers of (...)

In a ruling (No. 21-19197) issued on October 19, 2022 relating to the burden of proof of passing on additional costs, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled, in a case seeking compensation for competitive harm following Decision No. 14-D-19 of December 18, 2014 which sanctioned (...)

On October 19, 2022, the Commission announced that it had adopted its revised communication on state aid rules for research, development and innovation. The RDI framework aims to facilitate research, development and innovation activities that would not have taken place in the absence of (...)

On October 14, 2022, the Third and Eighth Chambers of the Conseil d’Etat validated, by means of a decision n° 445680 the decision n° 20-DCC-116 of August 28, 2020 relating to the acquisition of joint control of a predominantly food retail business located in the Troyes area by the company (...)

Can there be several Bars registered with each judicial court in France? This is the question raised by the initiative of two lawyers registered with the Marseilles Bar Association, which will have more than 2,183 lawyers in 2019, who have taken the initiative to create a second Bar (...)

On October 13, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in joined cases C-164/21 (SIA Baltijas Starptautiskā Akadēmija v Latvijas Zinātnes padome) and C-318/21 (SIA Stockholm School of Economics in Riga v Latvijas Zinātnes padome), thereby responding to requests for (...)

It is with some surprise... and undisguised satisfaction that we discover the conclusions presented today, October 13, 2022, in case C-449/21 (Towercast vs. Competition Authority and Ministry of Economy) by Advocate General Juliane Kokott! According to her, Article 21(1) of the Merger (...)

As indicated the rapporteur of the text for the European Parliament, Andreas Schwab, the DMA or rather regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on fair and competitive markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (...)

On October 11, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-17 1 million against one of the 22 local gas distribution network operators, otherwise known as "local distribution companies" (LDCs), Régaz-Bordeaux, which transports natural gas for the city of Bordeaux and 45 (...)

See decision n° 22-DCC-190 of October 7, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority authorized the acquisition of sole control of Unify by the Reworld Media group. Although this is a simplified decision, the Authority has issued a communiqué because of the economic importance of the (...)

In a brief decision rendered on October 6, 2022 that the Constitutional Council declared, without much surprise, that the provisions of 1°) of Article L. 442-1, I, of the Commercial Code, which provides, in its wording resulting from the ordinance of April 24, 2019 still in force, that (...)

On October 6, 2022, the Commission announced that it had sent to the Member States for consultation a draft proposal to prolong and adapt the temporary framework for state aid adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022 in order to allow Member States to use the flexibility provided by the (...)

In a ruling issued on October 6, 2022 the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal partially overturned the decision n° 20-D-04 of March 16, 2020 1.24 billion for practices mainly affecting "intra-brand" competition. The fine was more than 1.1 billion euros for Apple alone. Its wholesalers, (...)

On October 6, 2022, the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued another ruling, this time in the compotes case. Several companies have appealed against decision n° 19-D-24 of December 17, 2019 58 million for having implemented, between October 2010 and January 2014, an (...)

On November 8, 2022, the French Competition Authority published, more than one month after its adoption, the decision n° 22-D-16 of October 6, 2022 81 million against Essilor International SAS (as author) and its parent company EssilorLuxottica SA for having abused their dominant position in (...)

On October 3, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had adopted a revised version of the Notice on informal guidance which allows companies to request informal guidance on the application of EU competition rules to new or unresolved issues. The revised text updates the criteria for (...)

On September 30, the Commission reported that it had upgraded its online platform "eLeniency" to provide companies involved in leniency and settlement proceedings with easy and secure access to online documents. This new two-way version of the tool should allow for efficient interaction (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 31 new merger clearance decisions online, including 29 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-186 of September 30, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority authorized, after partial referral by (...)

On September 29, 2022, Advocate General Priit Pikamäe presented his conclusions in the joined cases C-649/20 (Spain v. European Commission), C-658/20 (Lico Leasing and Pequeños y Medianos Astilleros Sociedad de Reconversión v. European Commission) and C-662/20 (Caixabank and others v. European (...)

On September 29, 2022, the Commission adopted guidelines on collective agreements for self-employed workers without employees. These guidelines clarify the circumstances under which certain self-employed workers, particularly in the digital economy but not only, and considered as (...)

On September 29, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-15 on the enforcement of the injunctions issued in Decision No. 17-D-04 of March 8, 2017, which is incidentally the Authority’s first decision to liquidate penalty payments on the basis of Article L. 430-8 of the (...)

On September 28, 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court issued a judgment in the "restrictive competition practices" section of the dispute between the Molotov platform and Métropole télévision (M6), a parallel proceeding to the one brought before the French Competition (...)

On September 28, 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a decision in which, recalling that it follows from the combination of articles L. 441-6, I, and L. 442, I, 9°, of the Commercial Code, that the debtor of the obligations provided for by these provisions must (...)

On September 28, 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court issued a judgment in a stand-alone case concerning the enforcement of a clause in an exclusive concession agreement containing an obligation to respect recommended prices. This decision is based on an appeal by (...)

On September 27, 2022, some ten days after the announcement of the abandonment of the transaction, the Chairman of the French Competition Authority was heard by the Senate Committee on Culture, Education and Communication on the review process of the proposed acquisition of the M6 group by the (...)

On September 27, 2022, the Constitutional Council held the hearing concerning the QPC n° 2022-1011 which concerns the conformity with the Constitution of article L. 442-1, I, 1°, of the Commercial Code, in its version still in force today, which provides: "I. - Any person who, in the course of (...)

On September 22, 2022, Advocate General Juliane Kokott presented her conclusions in case C-312/21 (Tráficos Manuel Ferrer S.L., Ignacio vs. Daimler AG) which follows the reference for a preliminary ruling made by the Tribunal de Comercio No. 3 de Valencia in Spain. Decidedly, the (...)

Finally, I would like to point out (thanks to Jamal Henni for the information) that on September 22, 2022, the Administrative Court of Appeal of Nancy handed down an interesting decision in which it answers the question of whether the victim - in this case the Regional Hospital Center of (...)

On September 22, 2023, Olivier Guersent, Director General of DG Competition delivered an interesting speech at the 50th Fordham University Conference in New York, entitled "EU Competition policy: Plus ça change...". He obviously refers to the DMA, but in a broader perspective, since the (...)

On September 21, 2022, the European Court of First Instance handed down a judgment in the State aid case T-95/21 (Portuguese Republic v. European Commission) concerning the aid scheme implemented by Portugal for the free zone of Madeira (ZFM) and more specifically the implementation of the (...)

Driven by the energy crisis that Europe is experiencing since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Commission is accelerating the pace of support for the development of hydrogen. On September 21, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had authorized a second PIIEC (Major Project (...)

On September 20, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in joined cases C-339/20 and C-397/20 (VD and SR) in which the French Court of Cassation asked for a preliminary ruling on the question of whether Member States may impose a general and indiscriminate (...)

On September 20, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his conclusions in Case C-252/21 (Meta Platforms Inc. formerly Facebook Inc. and others v Bundeskartellamt) in the context of the reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf on the decision by (...)

Only a few hours after the announcement, on the evening of September 16, 2022, of the abandonment of the TF1/M6 merger project, the French Competition Authority issued a communiqué, in which it does not simply take note of the decision of Bouygues and Bertelsmann via RTL group. Anticipating (...)

On September 15, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union delivered its judgment in case C-705/20 (Fossil (Gibraltar) Limited v Commissioner of Income Tax) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Gibraltar Income and Profits Tax Tribunal [United Kingdom]. The present case (...)

On September 14, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-604/18 (Google LLC and Alphabet v. European Commission) concerning incidentally the largest fine ever imposed in Europe by a competition authority, that of 4.343 billion euros imposed on Google and (...)

See decision n° 22-DCC-174 of September 13, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized Trigano to acquire sole control of Car Loisirs, Car Loisirs 13 and Car Loisirs 84, each of which operates a motor home sales concession in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and (...)

On September 8, 2022, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella presented his conclusions in Case C-25/21 (Repsol Comercial de Productos Petrolíferos) on the reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Comercio de Madrid. The dispute at the origin of the present reference for a (...)

On September 7, 2022, the General Court of the Union delivered its judgment in case T-642/19 (JCDecaux Street Furniture Belgium v. European Commission... supported by Clear Channel Belgium). It dismissed the action brought by JCDecaux Street Furniture Belgium seeking annulment of the (...)

On September 7, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued two judgments with almost identical wording regarding the introduction of strict emission limits in the Italian capacity mechanism, in cases T-793/19 (Tirreno Power SpA v. European Commission) and T-794/19 (Set SpA v. (...)

On September 6, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had prohibited Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL. The Commission found that the vertical integration of Illumina, the only credible provider of a technology - NGS systems - to develop and process cancer detection tests currently (...)

The funeral industry had become accustomed to practices of abuse of a dominant position, in particular through the confusion created in the minds of consumers between commercial activities and those relating to the management or delegation of a public service of a funeral home. The Polynesian (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

Pending publication of the DMA in the Official Journal of the European Union, the Commission released on August 26, 2022 the results of an external market survey on hotel distribution practices in the EU. This study provides the European Commission (Directorate General for Competition) with (...)

On August 18, 2022, the French Competition Authority published the decision n° 22-DCC-157 by which the Authority gave its green light to the acquisition of sole control of Solteam by the Avril group in the animal nutrition sector. By taking control of Solteam, Avril acquires the main (...)

On August 9, 2022, the European Commission launched an evaluation of the functioning of the block exemption regulation for shipping consortia in view of its expiry on 25 April 2024. The regulation allows, under certain conditions, liner shipping companies with a combined market share not (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 13 new merger clearance decisions online, including 12 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-145 of August 5, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority authorized, subject to conditions, the (...)

On August 3, 2022, the Commission released another decision on December 21, 2021 in which it authorized, this time unconditionally, Microsoft to acquire sole control of Nuance, a transcription software company focused primarily on the healthcare industry and customer engagement solutions. (...)

On August 1, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-588/20 (Landkreis Northeim v. Daimler AG). This judgment follows the request for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Regional Court of Hanover, which, soberly worded, concerns the interpretation of (...)

Following the publication in the Official Journal of July 30, 2022 of the order n° 2022-1075 of July 29, 2022 on the development of climate risk management tools in agriculture, the French Competition Authority made public on August 30, 2022 the opinion n° 22-A-06 of July 25, 2022 that it (...)

In a ruling issued on July 22, 2022 the Conseil d’Etat confirmed the decision n° 19-DCC-180 of September 27, 2019 by which the French Competition Authority authorized, subject to commitments, the acquisition by Société Antillaise Frigorifique (SAFO) of sole control of NDIS, which operates a (...)

On September 14, 2022, the French Competition Authority made public the decision n° 22-DCC-134 of July 21, 2022 by which the French Competition Authority authorized the Intermarché group - ITM Entreprises - to acquire sole control of Saint Mamet, a company active in the processing of fruit (...)

As announced on July 11, 2022, the European Commission adopted on July 20, 2022 an amendment to the Temporary Crisis State Aid Framework, originally adopted on March 23, 2022 to support the economy in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the words of Executive Vice President (...)

The Commission was quick to react! Only a few days after the adoption, on July 13, 2022, by the European Court of First Instance of the judgment in case T-227/21 (Illumina, Inc. v. European Commission) which upheld the Commission’s decisions accepting a referral request from the French (...)

On July 15, 2022, the European Commission approved under EU state aid rules an important project of common European interest (PIIEC) to support research and innovation, as well as early industrial deployment, in the hydrogen technology value chain. The PIIEC, entitled "Hy2Tech", was (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 10 new merger clearance decisions online, including 6 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-125 of July 15, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized Sagesse Retraite (...)

On July 14, 2022, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella presented two sets of conclusions in two cases in which the Commission, suspecting exchanges of information at national level between Casino and Intermarché concerning the conditions of downstream distribution, had ordered the respondents (...)

On July 14, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos presented his conclusions in a case C-680/20 (Unilever Italia Mkt. Operations Srl v Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Italian Council of State. This reference for (...)

On July 14, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos presented his conclusions in Case C-127/21 (American Airlines Inc. v. European Commission). In it, he asks the Court of Justice to dismiss the appeal brought by American Airlines against the judgment of the General Court of the European (...)

On July 14, 2022, the Commission launched a market test until September 8, 2022, regarding the commitments proposed by Amazon to stop the use of non-public data of sellers in its marketplace for its own benefit, as well as discriminatory practices in the access of independent sellers to its (...)

On July 15, 2022, 24 hours late, the Court of Justice of the European Union made public the conclusions presented on July 14, 2022 by Advocate General Juliane Kokott in case C-176/19 (Commission/Servier and others) and in the case C-201/19 (Servier and others/Commission). The present cases (...)

On July 13, 2022, the European Court of First Instance issued a highly anticipated judgment in Case T-227/21 (Illumina, Inc. v. European Commission) in which it confirmed the Commission’s decisions accepting a referral request from the French competition authority to examine Illumina’s (...)

On July 13, 2022, the General Court of the Union issued a judgment in case T-886/19 (Design Light & Led Made in Europe and others v. European Commission). The applicants, Design Light & Led Made in Europe and Design Luce & Led Made in Italy, are associations of European citizens (...)

On July 13, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-150/20 (Tartu Agro AS v. European Commission). It seeks the annulment of the decision of 24 January 2020 in which the Commission found the existence of State aid to the applicant, Tartu Agro AS, an (...)

On July 13, 2022, the French Competition Authority launched a public consultation until September 19, 2022 on a progress report drawn up as part of its sectoral investigation into cloud computing after a six-month investigation. Stakeholders (industry players or those involved in a third (...)

On July 11, 2022, the European Commission sent to Member States for consultation a draft proposal to adapt the Temporary State Aid Framework, initially adopted on March 23, 2022, to support the economy in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so that it reflects and supports the (...)

On July 11, 2022, Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of small and medium-sized enterprises, trade, crafts and tourism, and Virginie Beaumeunier, Director General of the DGCCRF, presented the 2021 assessment of the DGCCRF at a press conference. As regards the activity concerning the (...)

On July 7, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in case C-261/21 (F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and others v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) (F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and others v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, following a reference for a (...)

On July 7, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos presented his conclusions in Case C-42/21 (Lietuvos geležinkeliai AB v European Commission). In his opinion, the Advocate General asks the Court of Justice of the European Union to dismiss the appeal lodged by Lietuvos geležinkeliai AB (LG), (...)

In a decision rendered on July 7, 2022 the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation referred to the Constitutional Council the question of the conformity with the Constitution of article L. 442-1, I, 1°, of the Commercial Code, in its version still in force today, which provides: "I. - Any (...)

On July 6, 2022, the European Commission made public its proposal for a Council Regulation to simplify procedures for state aid to green transport. The aim is to exempt from prior notification under EU state aid rules certain types of aid for rail, inland waterway and multimodal transport, in (...)

On July 6, 2022, the new chairman, Benoît Cœuré, presented to the press the annual activity report of the French Competition Authority this is the thirteenth since the creation of the institution. This year, the title, modest as usual, is: "Source of oxygen for the economy". After the year (...)

On July 5, 2022, the European Parliament held the final vote on the DMA and DSA. It adopted the legislation on digital markets by 588 votes in favor, 11 against and 31 abstentions. When the texts are formally adopted by the Council of the European Union in July 2022 (DMA) and September 2022 (...)

On July 4, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-14 relating to the request for review of the commitments of Société Réunionnaise du Radiotéléphone made binding by Decision No. 14-D-05 of June 13, 2014. It will be recalled that in a decision No. 14-D-05 of June 13, (...)

In a ruling issued on July 1, 2022 the Third and Eighth Chambers of the Conseil d’Etat ruled that the decision by which the French Competition Authority refused to accept the commitments proposed by Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited with a view to terminating proceedings relating (...)

The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which ended on June 30, 2022, reached a provisional political agreement in extremis between the Council and the European Parliament on the regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. This regulation aims to (...)

On June 30, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in case C-149/21 (Fakro sp. z o.o.). In this judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed that the European Union has no interest in further investigating a complaint from a competitor of the (...)

On June 30, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in case C-99/21 (Danske Slagtermestre v. European Commission) on the admissibility of an action brought by competitors of the beneficiaries of aid measures in the context of the third hypothesis referred to in (...)

On June 30, 2022, the European Commission launched a 14-week public consultation until October 6, 2022, seeking comments on the effectiveness of the texts governing the enforcement procedures of EU competition rules, namely Regulation 1/2003 and its implementing regulation, Regulation (...)

On July 5, 2022, the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC) released a decision n° 2022-PAC-04 rect adopted on June 30, 2022 in the sector of the distribution of optical and medical eyewear equipment. Following a complaint from the New Caledonian opticians and eye care professionals’ (...)

On July 6, 2022, the European Commission launched a public consultation until September 30, 2022, inviting all interested parties to comment on two draft texts concerning the automotive sector (RECSA), the final rules of which are expected to enter into force on June 1, 2023. The first is a (...)

Let’s go to judgment (RG n° 21/18276) rendered in the case of alleged abuses of La Poste’s dominant position on the market for addressed mail. Following the referral of the Adrexo company concerning the mass mailing of addressed mail and, in particular, management and marketing mail, by La (...)

Finally, we will see the decision in the case of refractive surgery (RG n°20/14884). Following the referral of the Optical Center company, which denounced the implementation of a boycott practice by the Rhône Departmental Council of the Order of Physicians (CDROM), the Authority declared (...)

Let’s start with the first of these judgments, the one rendered - with a celerity that deserves to be praised, since less than a month passed between the public session and the reading of the decision - in the case of the reallocation of the TV rights of League 1 soccer held by Mediapro (RG n° (...)

It took more than twelve days for the Competition Authority to comply... On June 29, 2022, taking note of the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal of June 16, 2022 ordering it to withdraw the version of the decision on interim measures published on January 31, 2019 on its website as well as (...)

On June 28, 2022, the Commission formally adopted the guidelines on vertical restraints in all language versions and therefore in French, after having approved the content of the guidelines in their English language version on May 10, 2022. The only remaining step is the publication in the (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 16 new merger clearance decisions online, including 14 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-110 of June 24, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition (...)

Concerning decision n° 22-DCC-111 of June 24, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the Duval group to acquire sole control of the Blue Green group, both of which are active in the golf course operation and online golf course reservation markets. While the (...)

Following the decision of the Constitutional Council of March 25, 2022 declaring the accumulation of sanctions against the same perpetrator for concurrent breaches to be in conformity with the Constitution, the Administrative Court of Paris rendered its decision on June 23, 2022 in the case of (...)

On June 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in case C-267/20 (Volvo AB and DAF Trucks NV v. RM). As Advocate General Rantos invited in his conclusions presented on 28 October 2021 the Court of Justice, which has followed the main thrust of his (...)

On June 22, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-584/19 (thyssenkrupp AG v. European Commission). In it, it confirmed the Commission’s decision of June 11, 2019 prohibiting the proposed merger between thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel Thyssenkrupp, a (...)

On June 22, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-657/20 (Ryanair DAC v. European Commission). Taking the view that the Commission could, without initiating the formal investigation procedure, approve the recapitalisation of the airline Finnair by its (...)

In a judgment rendered on June 22, 2022 to be published in the Bulletin, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation has confirmed the annulment by the Paris Court of Appeal in a judgment of October 29, 2020 of the first decision of conservatory measures adopted by the New Caledonian (...)

On June 16, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down four judgments in almost identical terms in the cases C-697/19 (Sony Corporation and Sony Electronics v. European Commission) C-698/19 (Sony Optiarc and Sony Optiarc America v. European Commission) C-699/19 (Quanta (...)

As it was about to launch its own retargeting service - a specific form of personalized and targeted advertising - competing with Criteo’s, thus completing its vertical integration, Meta decided to degrade the quality of the offer made to intermediaries on the French market of non-search (...)

On June 16, 2022, after more than three years of proceedings concerning the sole question of the competent jurisdiction to hear a request made by a respondent company to order the Authority to republish a decision in order to conceal business secrets, the Google companies finally obtained a (...)

Following the publication in the Official Journal dated December 13, 2022 of the order of July 26, 2022 amending the amended order of November 29, 2016 on the approval procedure and specifications of eco-organizations in the household packaging sector and following the publication on 16 (...)

On June 15, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued its judgment in Case T-235/18 (Qualcomm v. European Commission) in which it annulled in all respects the Commission’s decision of January 24, 2018 in which the Commission fined Qualcomm nearly €1 billion for abuse of a dominant (...)

On June 14, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his conclusions in joined cases C-702/20 (Dobeles Hes) and C-17/21 (GM) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Latvian Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article 107(1) TFEU in relation to provisions of (...)

On June 9, 2022, the Commission launched a dual public consultation, one for a targeted audience of professionals and one for the general public, both ending on July 15, 2022, to assess in a timely manner, i.e., before potential new risks materialize, the extent to which the Commission’s state (...)

Thanks to a decision rendered on June 9, 2022 but whose solution was strangely announced on June 7, 2022 on the page dedicated to the decisions rendered by the Economic and Financial Regulation Division, and which was only made public on June 15, 2022, the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of (...)

On June 8, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in joined cases T-363/19 and T-456/19 (United Kingdom and ITV plc v. European Commission). In it, he dismissed in its entirety the action brought by the United Kingdom and by ITV plc against the Commission decision of (...)

Following the presidential election of April 24, 2022, the Editorial Board of the magazine Concurrences has launched a call to its readers to make proposals for reform to the President of the Republic and his new Government. The proposals below have been suggested by the readers of the (...)

Since the entry into force on May 28, 2021 of Order no. 2021-649 of May 26, 2021, the Competition Authority may, on its own initiative, take interim measures. In practice, the initiative belongs to the Authority’s investigation departments, which submit a request for interim measures to the (...)

On June 2, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his conclusions in state aid case C-470/20 (Veejaam and Espo) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Estonian Supreme Court on the interpretation of Article 108(3) TFEU, Article 1(c) of Regulation (EU) 2015/1589 (...)

On June 8, 2022, the French Competition Authority made public the text of a speech that Chairman Benoît Cœuré gave on June 2, 2022 to the CNIL College on the topic "Competition law and personal data protection". At the end of some very interesting developments, in which he outlined the (...)

By judgment adopted on June 1, 202221 million imposed by the Paris Court of Appeal in its judgment of July 11, 2019, in the case of the delay in the entry of Durogesic into the market, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation, rejecting in its entirety the appeal lodged by the (...)

On May 24, 2022, the European Commission launched a one-month call for contributions for one month (until June 21, 2022) on the revision of the 2004 Communication on informal guidance on novel issues arising in individual cases under Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (guidance letters). Interested (...)

On May 24, 2022, the Competition Authority released its new framework document on competition compliance programs. It follows a public consultation that took place from October 11 to December 10, 2021. It is the result of the work of a group of experts from the private sector (companies, (...)

On May 18, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-609/19 (Canon v. European Commission). Dismissing the action brought by the Japanese company Canon against the Commission’s decision of 27 June 2019 the Court of First Instance confirms the two fines (...)

On May 18, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-251/19 (Wieland-Werke v. European Commission). In this decision, it dismisses the appeal lodged by Wieland-Werke AG against the decision of the Commission of 5 February 2019 in which the Commission (...)

On May 18, 2022, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-577/20 (Ryanair v. European Commission) 380 million to the German airline Condor, which in 2019 experienced a severe liquidity shortage following the liquidation of its parent company, the Thomas Cook (...)

In a decision handed down on 17 May 2021, the New Caledonian Competition Authority sanctioned an abuse of dominant position and a cartel in the funeral services sector. In the case that gave rise to decision n° 2022-PAC-02 of 17 May 2022 the Authority sanctioned the company Pompes Funèbres (...)

In a decision rendered on May 17, 2021, the New Caledonian Competition Authority has sanctioned an abuse of dominant position in the funeral industry. In the case that gave rise to decision no. 2022-PAC-03 of May 17, 2022, the Authority sanctioned Transfunéraire, on the basis of Article Lp. (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

On May 12, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in case C-377/20 (Servizio Elettrico Nazionale SpA and others v. Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) which follows a request for a preliminary ruling by the Italian Council of State on the (...)

In a press release dated May 12, 2022 the European Commission has taken stock of the temporary framework for state aid COVID and confirms that it will be phased out by the end of the specific investment support measures on 31 December 2022 and the solvency support measures on 31 December 2023. (...)

In a note of priorities released on May 12, 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) sets out its priorities for 2022. There are three priorities: The implementation of the ECN+ transposition law of February 28, 2022This law reinforces the powers of the Auditorate with respect to (...)

Avoiding a denial of justice at all costs is the leitmotiv of the ruling delivered on May 12, 2022 by the Economic and Financial Regulation Division of the Paris Court of Appeal on the appeal lodged in the Polynesian refrigerator case against decision no. 20-D-18 of November 18, 2020. In this (...)

On the same day, May 12, 2022, the Chamber of Economic and Financial Regulation of the Paris Court of Appeal (Ch. 5-7) issued another ruling, in the Alsace wines case. We recall that by decision n° 20-D-12 of September 17, 2020, the French Competition Authority sanctioned two trade unions, (...)

It will be recalled that, by decision dated June 12, 2019 the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal had for the first time recognized, in a case opposing the Minister of the Economy to GE Energy Products France (GEEPF), a subsidiary of the American General Electric, which designs, (...)

On May 16, 2022, the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee approved the provisional agreement reached with EU governments on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by 43 votes in favor, one against and one abstention. On this occasion, the consolidated text of the compromise reached on 24 (...)

On May 10, 2022, the Commission adopted its new block exemption regulation for vertical agreements accompanied by new guidelines on vertical agreements both of which will enter into force on June 1, 2022. They are also accompanied by an explanatory note. This review has two main objectives: (...)

With a view to entry into force in 2023, the Commission launched on 6 May 2022 a public consultation until 3 June 2022 on the draft revision of the Merger Implementing Regulation and the notice on a simplified procedure which is accompanied by an explanatory note. The proposed amendments are (...)

On 5 May 2022, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar delivered his conclusions in Case C-57/21 (RegioJet a.s.) following a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Czech Supreme Court. The present case raises the question of the production of evidence in the files of the authorities responsible (...)

By decision rendered on May 6, 2022, the interim relief judge of the Council of State, seized in emergency by several unions, members of the board of directors and representatives of the employee shareholders of the EDF Group, requesting the emergency suspension of decree no. 2022-342 of March (...)

On May 4, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-718/20 (Wizz Air Hungary v. European Commission) concerning the rescue aid plan for TAROM, the national airline, granted in 2020 by Romania. The measure consisted of a loan to finance TAROM’s liquidity needs (...)

It is recalled that in a judgment issued on March 26, 2020 in case C-244/18 (Larko Geniki Metalleftiki kai Metallourgiki AE v. European Commission) the European Court of Justice reminded the European Court of First Instance that, when applying the private operator principle, the Commission (...)

In a communiqué made public on April 28, 2022, the French Competition Authority announced that it had applied the failing firm exception for the first time since it regained responsibility for merger control in 2009, following the final approval of the acquisition of Conforama by the But (...)

On April 27, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-392/20 (Flašker v. European Commission). In it, he partially annulled the decision of the Commission of March 24, 2020 in case SA.43546 in which the Commission considered that, insofar as the granting of (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 29 new merger clearance decisions online, including 26 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-35 of April 27, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority authorized the Inovie group, which (...)

On April 25, 2022, the DGCCRF released a notice in which it states that, following an investigation conducted by the DGCCRF in 2018, it has put an end to abusive practices by an operator holding a dominant position in the local funeral services market, consisting of: discriminatory pricing (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 29 new merger clearance decisions online, including 26 simplified decisions. See decision n° 22-DCC-74 of April 25, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition of exclusive control (...)

In a judgment issued on April 21, 2022 the Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal declared inadmissible the appeal of a company against the decision of the College of the Authority to reject the commitments proposed by the Authority after the market test and to refer the case to the (...)

It will be recalled that in a decision rendered on November 25, 2020 concerning the conduct of visit and seizure operations, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation confirmed the principle that, if lawyer-client correspondence cannot be seized during visit operations, it is on the (...)

Recent developments in the field of anti-competitive practices litigation show, if it were necessary, that the possibility for victims of such practices to have access to evidence, which is often in the possession of the perpetrators of these practices, is a determining factor in the success (...)

On April 19, 2022, and after a first decision authorizing the French scheme to provide up to 155 billion euros of liquidity support to companies in all sectors in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Commission adopted two new decisions on the basis of the Temporary (...)

Yet another episode in the saga of the incidental visits and seizures carried out at the Whirlpool premises in 2014. It will be remembered that, by a decision dated August 11, 2021 the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation annulled for the second time the order of the First President (...)

In the wake of the judgment handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union on April 24, 2020 in the Marine Harvest v. European Commission case, whose conclusions it blithely drew on, the French Competition Authority issued a decision on April 12, 2022, No. 22-D-10 in which it (...)

Another transaction subject to conditions is the acquisition of the British company Meggit by the American company Parker, both of which are the world’s leading suppliers of aerospace components, with extensive product portfolios. Parker and Meggitt compete specifically in the design, (...)

On 7 April 2022, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar delivered his Opinion in Case C-163/21 (AD and Others v PACCAR Inc, DAF TRUCKS NV and DAF Trucks Deutschland GmbH) following a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal de Commerce de Barcelona. Decidedly, the Commission’s decision (...)

After a first rejection in summary proceedings on November 5, 2021, and then the non-referral of a QPC on March 1, 2022, the Conseil d’État, ruling on the merits of the case, confirmed, by means of a decision rendered on April 7, 2022 and drafted in exactly the same terms - except for the (...)

On April 7, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in the joined cases C-102/21 and C-103/21 (KW and SG vs. Autonomous Provinz Bozen) which follows two references for a preliminary ruling made by the Administrative Court of the Province of Bolzano. It intervenes in the (...)

On April 7, 2022, the Court of Justice of the Union issued a judgment in case C-429/20 (Solar Ileias Bompaina v. European Commission). Two renewable energy power producers (RES), active in the Greek electricity market, complained to the Commission about an amendment to the operating aid (...)

On April 7, 2022, Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella presented his conclusions in Case C-211/20 (European Commission v. Valencia Club de Fútbol and Spain) on the Commission’s appeal against the judgment of the Court of First Instance. The Valencia professional soccer club, which was in (...)

On April 7, 2022, Advocate General Tamara Ćapeta presented her conclusions in Joined Cases C-331/20 (Volotea v. European Commission) and C-343/20 (easyJet Airline v. European Commission). In order to reduce the seasonality of air routes by increasing the frequency of flights during the (...)

The European Commission announced on April 7, 2022 that it had just approved the French scheme to provide up to €155 billion of liquidity support to companies in all sectors in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The scheme is the first to be approved on the basis of the Temporary (...)

In a decision rendered on April 7, 2022 but which was only published online on May 4, 2022, directly on the Paris Court of Appeal website, the Court’s Chamber 5-7 essentially confirmed decision no. 19-D-26 of December 19, 2019 in which the Authority fined Google €150 million for having abused (...)

On April 6, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-508/19 (Mead Johnson Nutrition and others v. European Commission) concerning once again the Commission’s review under state aid legislation of Gibraltar’s Income Tax Act 2010 (ITA 2010), which, in its initial (...)

A few days before the first president of the Paris Court confirmed that the presumptions of anti-competitive practices remaining in the file after the invalidation of the visit and seizure operations carried out at Samsung’s premises justified in themselves the OVS ordered at Whirlpool’s (...)

On March 31, 2022, David Assouline, rapporteur, presented the conclusions of the report of the Senate Commission of Inquiry on media concentration in France, chaired by Laurent Lafon. At the end of this 380-page report, the authors formulated 32 proposals, most of which deal with (...)

On March 30, 2022, the Union Court issued a series of 13 new judgments in the air cargo cartel case. It will be recalled that following the leniency application submitted by the German airline Lufthansa and two of its subsidiaries, the Commission had by decision of November 9, 2010 (...)

On March 30, 2022, the Senate Economic Affairs Committee adopted the information report by Ms. Anne-Catherine Loisier recalling the intention of the legislator on the application of article 7 of the law aiming at protecting the remuneration of farmers concerning the logistic penalties imposed (...)

In recent weeks, the Government of French Polynesia has urgently referred to the Polynesian Competition Authority (PCA), as well as to the Economic, Social, Environmental and Cultural Council of French Polynesia (CESEC), for an opinion on a draft law of the country which aims to set the legal (...)

On March 28, 2022, the Paris Commercial Court issued a interesting judgment on a referral from the Minister of the Economy against Google. In essence, the court ruled that several clauses in the contract between Google and application developers for the distribution of applications on the (...)

In a brief decision rendered on March 25, 2022 that the Constitutional Council declared, without much surprise, the provisions of paragraph VII of article L. 470-2 of the French Commercial Code, which provides for the cumulative enforcement of sanctions imposed on the same perpetrator for (...)

On March 24, 2022, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) late in the evening. Final technical work will finalize the text in the coming days. The agreement reached on March 24 still needs to be (...)

On March 24, 2022, Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued a decision in which it confirmed in all respects the decision n° 2020-PAC-04 rendered on October 5, 2020 by the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC). Until December 2021, there was only one multiplex cinema in New (...)

On March 23, 2022, the European Commission adopted a Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures to support the economy following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Based on Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, which is applicable when the EU economy is faced with a serious disturbance, the new (...)

On March 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued two judgments with converging conclusions in two cases raising questions about the application of the ne bis in idem principle in the presence of conflicting decisions issued either by two national competition authorities (...)

On March 22, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued two judgments with converging conclusions in two cases raising questions about the application of the ne bis in idem principle in the presence of conflicting decisions issued either by two national competition authorities (...)

On March 21, 2022, the ECN - European Competition Network - and its member authorities - the European Commission, the NCA and the EFTA Surveillance Authority - issued a statement on the implementation of competition law in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After a strong (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 15 new merger clearance decisions online, including 13 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-31 of March 21, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the Zouari (...)

On March 18, 2022, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) announced that it was opening an in-depth examination phase, known as "phase 2", of the proposed acquisition of the Métropole Télévision group by the Bouygues group. Following the agreement formalizing the (...)

On March 15, 2022, the Constitutional Council held the hearing concerning the QPC n° 2021-984 concerning the conformity of VII of article L. 470-2 of the French Commercial Code, which provides for the cumulative enforcement of sanctions imposed on the same perpetrator for concurrent breaches (...)

On March 11, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had opened, in parallel with the UK CMA, a formal proceeding with respect to a September 2018 agreement between Google and Facebook (now Meta), codenamed "Jedi Blue" by Google regarding display advertising services on publisher (...)

On March 10, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in Joined Cases C-167/19 and C-171/19 (Freistaat Bayern v. Commission and Interessengemeinschaft privater Milchverarbeiter Bayerns and Others v. Commission) dismisses the two appeals lodged by the Commission (...)

On March 10, 2022, Advocate General Juliane Kokott presented her conclusions in case C-705/20 (Fossil (Gibraltar) Limited v Commissioner of Income Tax) which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Gibraltar Income and Profits Tax Tribunal [United Kingdom]. The present case (...)

After the outbreak of COVID-19, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. On March 8, 2022, the European Commission had announced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a plan aimed at making Europe independent of Russian fossil fuels well before 2030, starting with gas. On that occasion, the (...)

On March 11, 2022, the French Competition Authority published a decision n° 22-D-09 of March 10, 2022 in which, after almost four years of investigation, it concludes that the commitments made mandatory by the decision n° 12-D-06 of January 26, 2012 relating to practices implemented in the (...)

On March 9, 2022, Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued a judgment in a case concerning a refusal to sell in the sector of maintenance of medium and low voltage electrical distribution equipment. Thanks to Jamal Henni for the information. The present case obviously follows a (...)

The Mobilux group, which operates the But, But Cosy and But City brands in France through more than 300 points of sale, notified the French Competition Authority of the acquisition of sole control of Conforama’s business in France (i.e. 165 (or 172...) points of sale in metropolitan France). (...)

On March 3, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-d-08 1,500,000 to four companies active in waste collection and management in Haute-Savoie, for having, in the course of two separate cartels, the first relating to non-hazardous waste, for more than eight years (pt. (...)

In view of the expiry of the horizontal block exemption regulations on December 31, 2022, the European Commission made public on March 1, 2022 two draft revised block exemption regulations relating on the one hand to research and development ("R&D") agreements and on the other hand (...)

On March 1, 2022, the French Conseil d’Etat issued a ruling following two applications by Free and its parent company Iliad to have the Competition Authority’s decision to investigate the proposed acquisition of control of Métropole Télévision by the Bouygues group annulled on the grounds that (...)

Following the adoption in 2021, as part of the reform of the common agricultural policy for 2023-2027, of a new derogation from competition rules for agricultural products, which allows agreements between agricultural producers and even with other actors in the agri-food supply chain if such (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted eight new merger clearance decisions online, including six simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-26 of February 28, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the (...)

On March 15, 2022, a few days after the publication on March 12, 2022 of decree n° 2022-342 of March 11, 2022 defining the specific terms and conditions for the allocation of an additional volume of electricity that may be allocated in 2022, on an exceptional basis, within the framework of (...)

On February 24, 2022, Advocate General Laila Medina presented her conclusions in case C-588/20 (Landkreis Northeim v. Daimler AG) which follows the reference for a preliminary ruling submitted by the Regional Court of Hanover, which, soberly worded, concerns the interpretation of the (...)

On February 24, 2022, Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his conclusions in Case C-99/21 (Danske Slagtermestre v. European Commission) on the admissibility of an action brought by competitors of the beneficiaries of aid measures in the context of the third hypothesis referred to in (...)

Let’s start with the decision of 24 February 2022 in which the European Commission approved, following a phase II review, the combination of the Finnish-based companies Cargotec and Konecranes, incidentally the two leading European and among the world’s leading manufacturers of container and (...)

In a ruling issued on February 23, 2022 the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal has once again ruled on a case in follow on, this time following the famous decision of the French Competition Authority of February 20, 2014 sanctioning the Amaury group to the tune of 3.5 million euros for (...)

In the last few days, the National Assembly has made public two information reports concerning or referring to competition issues. First, we will see the information report on the evaluation of the EGALIM 1 law three years after its adoption on October 30, 2018, prepared by deputies Grégory (...)

On February 25, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-07 of February 23, 2022 in which it rejected the complaint of Aramis and Artemis, two publishers of pornographic films, who complained about practices in the sector of publishing and distribution of audiovisual (...)

On February 22, 2022, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-06 in which it sanctioned EDF and its subsidiaries active in the related markets of the retail supply of natural gas (pt. 417), the supply of multi-technical management/maintenance and energy optimization services (...)

In a ruling issued on February 16, 2022 the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court has confirmed that the head of a qualitative selective distribution network can refuse to approve distributors who nevertheless meet the selection criteria. In this case, a former car dealer who was (...)

On February 16, 2022, the French Competition Authority published a decision n° 22-D-05 adopted on February 15, 2022 in which it sanctioned, in the amount of ... 65,000 euros, a company specializing in the air transport of pets in French Polynesia, a micro-market, since only about a hundred (...)

On March 1, 2022, the French Competition Authority posted nine new merger clearance decisions online, including eight simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 22-DCC-19 of February 15, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

On February 10, 2022, the Government of New Caledonia launched two calls for candidates for the position of President of the New Caledonian Competition Authority (ACNC) and that of General Rapporteur, respectively. The year 2022 will also mark the end of the terms of two non-permanent (...)

In recent days, the French National Assembly has published its information report on credit insurance prepared by Dominique David on behalf of the French National Assembly’s Finance, General Economy and Budgetary Control Committee, which, noting the oligopolistic nature of the French market, (...)

On February 9, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued an important judgment in case T-791/19 (Sped-Pro S.A. v. European Commission). Sped-Pro S.A., a Polish company active in parcel shipping, the Polish-registered company filed a complaint with the Commission in 2016 against (...)

On February 9, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-195/19 (GEA Group AG v. European Commission). It confirms the decision of January 24, 2019 in which the Commission rejected a request for reimbursement of a fine imposed by a decision of 11 November 2009 (...)

On May 5, 2022, a few days after the publication in the Official Journal dated April 27, 2022 of decree no. 2022-666 of April 26, 2022 on the classification of heating and cooling networksthe French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) publishedopinion n° 22-A-02 of February 9, (...)

On February 4, 2022, the Commission launched a targeted public consultation in the context of the ongoing review of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and the Vertical Guidelines, inviting comments on the guidelines which propose to introduce a new section in the Vertical Guidelines (...)

On February 2, 2022, the General Court of the Union delivered its judgment in case T-799/17 (Scania and others v. European Commission). In this judgment, the Court of First Instance dismissed Scania’s action for annulment of the decision of September 27, 2017, in which the Commission, finding (...)

On February 2, 2022, the General Court of the European Union handed down two judgments concerning the investigation against Russia’s Gazprom into the supply of gas to eight Central and Eastern European Member States, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, (...)

On February 2, 2022, the General Court of the European Union handed down two judgments concerning the investigation against Russia’s Gazprom into the supply of gas to eight Central and Eastern European Member States, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, (...)

On February 2, 2022, the Authority issued a decision n° 22-D-04 relating to practices implemented in the sector of inter-communal hospital medical transport in the Val d’Ariège and the Pays d’Olmes. This decision follows an investigation conducted by the Interregional Competition (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted online the decision n° 22-DCC-11 of January 31, 2022 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the acquisition of sole control of Minelli, which operates 210 shoe stores in France, by Stéphane (...)

Does compensation for damage to aquaculture caused by wildlife protected by the Birds Directive constitute state aid? This is in essence the question referred by the Latvian Supreme Court to the Court of Justice of the Union for a preliminary ruling, following a dispute between the national (...)

Only a few days after the appointment of its president and in accordance with the wishes expressed by the latter before the national representation, the French Competition Authority decided to launch a sectoral investigation on the competitive functioning of the cloud or rather, to refer (...)

Following the judgment of September 6, 2017 in which the Court of Justice of the European Union annulled the judgment of June 12, 2014 in which the Court of First Instance had dismissed Intel’s action for annulment of the Commission decision of 13 May 2009 and referred the case back to the (...)

By judgment delivered on January 26, 2022 the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation confirms, in a reasoning that may seem very poor considering the stakes, the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal in the case of the ban, justified by safety reasons, on the distance selling of Stihl (...)

On the same day, January 26, 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation handed down another ruling concerning exclusive import practices post Lurel law implemented in the consumer goods sector on the islands of Wallis and Futuna. It rejected the appeal lodged against the judgment (...)

In a ruling issued on January 26, 2022 the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation confirmed the extension of the protection granted to lawyer-client correspondence. It fully agrees with the analysis of the First President of the Paris Court of Appeal in the order issued on November 8, (...)

On January 25, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its judgment in the Micula case (C-638/19) named after two brothers, Swedish investors residing in Romania, who had been awarded damages by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) on December (...)

As for the acquisition of sole control of Ferro by Prince, two US companies active in the manufacture of enamel and glass coatings as well as additives and industrial products, it has also been authorized by decision of January 25, 2022 subject to full compliance with the commitments offered (...)

Not surprisingly, since the favorable vote of the Parliament (12 for, 10 against at Senate and 25 in favor, 0 against at the National Assembly), Mr. Benoît Cœuré, Administrator of the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), was appointed Chairman of the French (...)

On January 20, 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a judgment in case C-594/19 (Deutsche Lufthansa AG v. European Commission). It confirms in all respects the order by which the Court of First Instance declared inadmissible the action brought by Lufthansa against the (...)

On January 20, 2022, the European Commission published the findings of its consumer Internet of Things (IoT) sector inquiry. The final report and the accompanying Commission Staff Working Document of the Commission services that accompany it identify several potential competition issues in the (...)

On January 19, 2022, the General Court of the European Union issued a judgment in case T-610/19 (Deutsche Telekom v. European Commission) which does not directly concern a competition dispute but an important practical issue relating to the payment of a fine imposed for an infringement of the (...)

On February 22, 2022, the Commission made public the decision of January 19, 2022 in which it approved the Consortium, composed of Meridiam SAS, Global Infrastructure Partners LLC (GIP), Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) and CNP Assurances, a subsidiary of CDC, as the appropriate (...)

On January 20, 2022, the French Competition Authority published a decision n° 22-D-03 adopted on January 18, 2022 concerning access to the database of small non-residential customers affected by the end of the regulated sales tariffs (TRV) for electricity. To fully understand the issues at (...)

On January 13, 2022, the French Competition Authority rendered its first two contentious decisions concerning almost identical practices implemented in the sector of services provided by judicial officers, on the one hand, in the city of Paris and on the other hand, in the department of (...)

On January 13, 2022, the European Commission announced that it had prohibited the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering CO, Ltd (DSME) by Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHIH), two South Korean shipbuilders, leaders in the construction of large liquefied natural gas (...)

Benoît Cœuré, an economist who has worked for the ECB and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), has been nominated by the President of the Republic to become the next chairman of the French Competition Authority. He will be heard by the competent standing committee of each assembly on (...)

Benoît Cœuré, an economist who has worked for the ECB and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), was approached by the President of the Republic to become the next chairman of the French Competition Authority. He was interviewed, in accordance with Article 13 of the Constitution, first (...)

On January 12, 2022, the information mission of the National Assembly presented its report on the application of the neighboring right for the benefit of agencies, publishers and professionals of the press sector. The mission’s objective was to evaluate the implementation of the neighboring (...)

On January 12, 2022, the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued a ruling in an interesting case of selective automobile distribution. In this case, a former Peugeot dealer, who became a Peugeot authorized repairer in 2005, began offering new Peugeot vehicles on his website, (...)

Little by little, with the decisions rendered by the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation, the prerogatives of the judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) are taking shape with regard to the delimitation of the scope of application of an authorization for visits and seizures. In the (...)

On January 11, 2022, the European Commission made public its proposals for the revision of state aid rules in the agriculture and forestry and fisheries sectors, which it is submitting for public consultation until March 13, 2022, with a view to adopting the revised rules at the end of 2022. (...)

For the beauty of the sport, one can read the decision of January 10, 2022 made public on October 24, 2022, in which the Commission rejected Iliad’s invitation to act under Article 265 TFEU, requesting the Commission to rule on its jurisdiction to hear the aborted merger between TF1 and M6. (...)

In a ruling issued on January 5, 2022 the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal once again ruled on the issue of proof of the passing on of additional costs linked to a cartel, in relation to the practices implemented by the company Vania in the context of its participation in an (...)

When the French Competition Authority practices "name and shame",... the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation, hesitating on the order of jurisdiction to deal with a possible challenge of the communication outside the framework of the Authority, decides to refer to the Court of (...)

On January 4, 2022, the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation handed down three rulings concerning the visit and seizure operations (OVS) ordered at the request of the General Reporter of the French Competition Authority at the premises of several companies operating in the rendering (...)

In a decision issued on 29 December 2021 the French Supreme Administrative Court referred to the Constitutional Council the question of the conformity with the Constitution of VII of Article L. 470-2 of the Commercial Code. This article provides that "when, in the course of the same or (...)

On December 28, 2021, the French Competition Authority adopted the decision n° 21-D-30 which is likely to be the last decision of the year 2021, concerning practices in the brown goods distribution sector In 2014, Concurrence, a company specializing in the sale of consumer electronics (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 18 new merger clearance decisions online, including 16 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 21-DCC-268 of December 28, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority authorized the Michelin group, which (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 11 new merger clearance decisions online, including 7 simplified decisions. We will also see decision n° 21-DCC-261 of December 23, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority conditionally authorized the Cerba group, which (...)

On 21 December 2021, the General Court of the European Union delivered two judgments in the case T-209/15 (Gmina Kosakowo v European Commission) and, on referral, incase T-263/15 RENV (Gmina Miasto Gdynia and Port Lotniczy Gdynia Kosakowo v European Commission). By those two judgments, the (...)

On 21 December 2021, the European Commission adopted new guidelines on state aid for climate, environmental protection and energy which will enter into force in January 2022. In addition, Member States will be required to align existing schemes with the new rules from 2024. The guidelines (...)

On December 17, 2021, the French Competition Authority (Autorité de la concurrence) issued a opinion n° 21-A-17 in which it responded to a request from ARCEP for an opinion on a draft decision relating to the fifth round of regulation of the upstream wholesale market for DTT broadcasting (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 11 new merger clearance decisions online, including 7 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 21-DCC-258 of December 17, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority authorized the acquisition of joint (...)

And the prescient is... Benoît Cœuré. A press release from the Presidency of the Republic has just announced the proposed appointment of Mr. Benoît Cœuré as Chairman of the French Competition Authority. This confirms the information published in the press three weeks ago. In a tweet in a (...)

On 16 December 2021, Advocate General Priit Pikamäe delivered his Opinion in cases C-885/19 (Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe v European Commission) and C-898/19 (Ireland v European Commission)both concerning the advance tax ruling granted by the Luxembourg authorities to Fiat Chrysler Finance (...)

As part of the investigation into the merits of the case brought by two organisations representing the interests of a very large number of press publishers of newspapers and magazines in France - the Syndicat des éditeurs de la presse magazine (SEPM) and the Alliance de la presse d’information (...)

On 16 December 2021, the General Court of the European Union made public a judgment adopted the day before, on 15 December 2021, in case T-565/19 (Oltchim v. European Commission). The case concerns around €335 million of state aid granted to the ailing petrochemical company Oltchim by (...)

On December 17, 2021, the French Competition Authority published a decision n° 21-D-29 issued on December 15, 2021. This decision concerns a request made by SNCF for a review of the commitments given and made binding by Decision No. 14-D-11 of 2 October 2014. It must be said at once that the (...)

The Commission announced on 14 December 2021 that it would authorise, subject to conditions, the acquisition of Suez by Veolia, without going through an in-depth phase II review of the transaction. It must be said that the concessions made are significant, at least enough for the Commission (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 11 new merger clearance decisions online, including 7 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 21-DCC-241 of December 14, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority conditionally authorized Trigano, which (...)

On 9 December 2021 Advocate General Athanasios Rantos delivered his Opinion in Case C-377/20 (Servizio Elettrico Nazionale SpA and Others v Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato)which follows a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Italian Council of State raising a (...)

On 9 December 2021, the Commission launched a public consultation until 24 February 2022 on its draft guidelines on collective agreements concerning the working conditions of self-employed persons without employees. The draft guidelines aim to provide legal certainty and ensure that (...)

On December 9, 2021, the French Competition Authority adopted a decision n° 21-D-28 in which it implemented for the fifth time Article L. 464-2 of the French Commercial Code and imposed a fine of 100,000 euros on Mayotte Channel Gateway SAS and its parent company for obstruction. This is not (...)

On 8 December 2021, the General Court of the European Union delivered a judgment in case T-623/20 (Sun West and others v. European Commission). Same reason, same punishment... The present case concerns, as in case T-678/20 (Solar Electric Holding and Others v European Commission) which (...)

After the adoption of Andreas Schwab’s report by the Internal Market Committee (Imco) on 23 November 2021, the European Parliament still had to ratify its position on the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Market Act (DMA) during the plenary session of 13 to 16 December 2021. But before the (...)

On 7 December 2021, Executive Vice President Vestager, FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan and US DoJ Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter launched a joint EU-US dialogue on competition policy as applied to the tech sector. The aim is to develop common approaches and strengthen (...)

On 6 December 2021, the Commission adopted revised guidelines on state aid to promote investment in risk financingand a revised Communication on short-term export-credit insuranceboth of which will apply from 1 January 2022. The revised Risk Financing Guidelines clarify and simplify the (...)

On 3 December 2021, the Commission made public the results of the consultationlaunched on 26 March 2021 on a possible review of certain procedural aspects of EU merger control. To this end, it invited stakeholders to provide input on different policy options to further focus and simplify EU (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 33 new merger clearance decisions online, including 32 simplified decisions. Among these decisions is decision n° 21-DCC-215 of December 3, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority authorized the acquisition of joint (...)

In the case of the image-cheque exchange commissions, Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal, ruling on a referral after a second cassation, has just struck a blow! In a judgment handed down on 2 December 2021the Court of Paris, with the strong support of the Minister of the Economy, comes (...)

Coincidentally, the Commission announced on the same day, 2 December 2021, that it had just closed the third part of its investigation into cartels in the spot foreign exchange ("Forex") market involving the 11 most liquid and most traded currencies worldwide, by fining five banks, 261 million (...)

As expected, the Commercial Chamber of the Court of Cassation has, in a judgment delivered on 1 December 2021 which will be published in the Bulletin, rejected the appeal lodged against the judgment rendered on 26 May 2020 by the Paris Court of Appeal (Division 5, Chamber 7) in the case of (...)

On November 29, 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which currently chairs the G7 competition authorities, released a Compendium of approaches to improving competition in digital marketsThe Compendium takes stock of the initiatives taken by the competition authorities of the (...)

On 25 November 2021, the Commission adopted a revised Communication on State aid rules for important projects of common European interest (the "PIIEC Communication"), which will apply from 1 January 2022 and the text of which can be found at Commission press release. As a reminder, this (...)

On November 24, 2021, the French Competition Authority made public decision n° 21-DCC-197 of October 25, 2021 in which it authorized, following a phase 1 review but subject to structural commitments, the Spanish group Cellnex to acquire sole control of Hivory, a company previously owned by (...)

While waiting for the white smoke to come out of the chimneys of the Elysée Palace, the competition news continues... On November 24, 2021, the Chamber 5-4 of the Paris Court of Appeal issued an interesting ruling in the Follow-on case of the dairy products cartel sanctioned by the French (...)

After a final meeting on 22 November 2021, the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee (Imco) adopted on 23 November 2021 by 42 votes to two with one abstention its position on the proposed Digital Market Act (DMA) regulation, which will set out, after its adoption in the course of (...)

On November 29, 2021, the French Competition Authority issued a decision No. 21-D-27 of November 23, 2021 in which it dismissed practices concerning the manufacture and marketing of hydrocarbon separators, equipment used to trap hydrocarbons in storm water. Following a complaint filed by a (...)

On 22 November 2021, the Commission made public the results of the public consultation on the draft revision of the Block Exemption Regulation and the Vertical Guidelines launched in the context of the impact assessment of the Block Exemption Regulation. It will be recalled that on 9 July (...)

On 17 December 2021, the French Competition Authority published its opinion n° 21-A-16 adopted at the request of the Minister of the Economy on 22 November 2021 concerning three alternative horizontal cooperation arrangements between insurers in the field of multi-risk weather insurance. In (...)

On 19 November 2021, the Commission launched a public consultation until 11 February 2022 on the revision of the 2013 Broadband Guidelines. The draft new Broadband Guidelines and its annexes aim at fostering the roll-out of broadband networks, including gigabit and 5G networks, while limiting (...)

On 18 November 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered a judgment in case C-306/20 (Visma Enterprise SIA v Konkurences padome) in proceedings following a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Latvian Regional Administrative Court on the interpretation of a clause in a (...)

On 18 November 2021, the European Commission adopted a communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions entitled "A competition policy adapted to the new challenges".which is accompanied by an annex containing a (...)

At the end of the Competitiveness Council (Internal Market and Industry) on 25 November 2021, the representatives of the EU Member States unanimously adopted a position (general guidelines) on the basis of the Slovenian Presidency’s compromise on the Commission’s proposal for a Digital Market (...)

In the last few days, the French Competition Authority has posted 14 new merger clearance decisions online, including 12 simplified decisions. These decisions include decision No. 21-DCC-210 of November 15, 2021 in which the French Competition Authority unconditionally authorized the (...)

On 11 November 2021, the Court of Justice of the Union delivered its judgment in case C-819/19 (Stichting Cartel Compensation and others)following a request for a preliminary ruling by the Amsterdam Court of Justice. The present case follows on from the decision of the Court of First (...)

On 11 November 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment in case C-933/19 (Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. v European Commission). In it, it dismisses the appeal brought by the concessionary undertaking for the A 2 motorway between Nowy Tomyśl and Konin, Poland (...)

On 10 November 2021, the General Court of the European Union delivered its judgment in case T-612/17 (Google Shopping)the first of three cases in which the search engine was sanctioned for abuse of a dominant position to be submitted to the Court’s wisdom. It will be recalled that on 27 June (...)

On 10 November 2021, the General Court of the European Union delivered a judgment in case T-678/20 (Solar Electric Holding and others v. European Commission). The case concerns the French mechanism for full compensation, financed by a contribution to the public service of electricity levied (...)

In a decision issued on 8 November 2021the Conseil d’Etat finally validated in all respects the analysis of the French Competition Authority authorizing, subject to conditions, the creation of the Salto full-function joint venture in phase I. In so doing, it rejected in their entirety the (...)

On November 8, 2021, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 21-D-26 1.4 million for having implemented, for seven years, from 2012 to 2019, two vertical agreements, the first one imposing "recommended" prices on resellers and the second one aiming, according to the Authority, to (...)

This section of the review Concurrences selects articles and working papers on themes related to competition laws and economics, mainly, but not only, in the English and French languages. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey on themes important in the area. (...)

While waiting for the white smoke to come out of the chimneys of the Élysée Palace, a brief reminder of the institutional process that must lead to the appointment of the Chairman of the Competition Authority Pursuant toarticle 13 of the Constitutionthe President of the Republic has the (...)

On 4 November 2021, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation issued a judgment in the case of the search and seizure operations (OVS) carried out in October 2017 in particular on the premises of the Conseil supérieur du notariat (CSN) and the Association pour le développement du service (...)

On 2 November 2021, the French Competition Authority issued adecision n° 21-D-25in which it severely sanctioned Tereos Océan Indien, a subsidiary of the Tereos group, without really convincing, for having abused its dominant position on the market for the supply of molasses produced from sugar (...)

Another step forward in the battle between Illumina and the Commission. The latter announcedon October 29, 2021, that it had adopted, after hearing the parties, interim measures to offset the effects of the anticipated acquisition of Grail by Illumina. It will be recalled that on August (...)

Following the decision of 19 July 2016in which the Commission penalised several truck manufacturers, including AB Volvo and DAF Trucks, for participating in a cartel on truck prices from 1997 to 2011, the purchaser of three trucks manufactured by those two companies obtained compensation (...)

On 28 October 2021, the General Court of the European Union delivered a judgment in Joined Cases C-915/19 to C-917/19 (Eco Fox Srl and Others)following references for a preliminary ruling from the Italian Council of State. The present references for a preliminary ruling concerned the (...)

On November 23, 2021 the DGCCRF made public a decision of micro-PAC closed in July 2021. An investigation carried out by the DGCCRF in 2018 revealed abusive practices by two companies, each holding a dominant position on a funeral services market in the cantons of Montluel and Meximieux in (...)

On 20 October 2021, the General Court of the European Union handed down a judgment in the cases T-240/18 and T-296/18two judgments concerning the sale of the assets of the second German airline - Air Berlin - following its bankruptcy, to Lufthansa, which is acquiring the regional airline LGW, (...)

In a ruling issued on 19 October 2021the Criminal Division of the Court of Cassation has censured the order issued on October 7, 2020 by the delegate of the First President of the Paris Court of Appeal, which annulled the order issued on July 1, 2019 by the liberty and detention judge of the (...)

Not surprisingly, the Senate adopted on October 14, 2021The Senate adopted on 14 October 2021, after a final reading of the text in public session, the bill to protect the remuneration of farmers as it resulted from the compromise reached on 4 October 2021 by the Joint Committee. After the (...)

On October 12, 2021, the French Competition Authority issued a decision n° 21-d-24 in which it sanctioned the company Espace Foot for having implemented, between July 2002 and September 18, 2018, a generalized agreement with its franchisees to fix the sales prices to consumers of products (...)