European Commission

State aid: Commission approves €5.4 billion support for production of electricity from renewable sources in Italy* The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a scheme to support electricity production from renewable sources in Italy. The measure will contribute to the EU (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into capital injections in favour of PostNord and Post Danmark* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether certain capital injections granted by Denmark and Sweden to PostNord and Post Danmark are in line (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into public financing of Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to determine whether the public financing model of the Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link is in line with EU State aid (...)

Mergers: Commission prohibits proposed merger between Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp The European Commission has prohibited the creation of a joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp under the EU Merger Regulation. The merger would have reduced competition and increased prices for different (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Lithuanian electricity strategic reserve measure* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Lithuanian support to energy company AB Lietuvos Energija in the context of a strategic reserve measure may (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the grocery retail sector in France* The European Commission can confirm that on 20 May 2019 its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in the grocery retail sector in France. The Commission (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Barclays, RBS, Citigroup, JPMorgan and MUFG €1.07 billion for participating in foreign exchange spot trading cartel* In two settlement decisions, the European Commission has fined five banks for taking part in two cartels in the Spot Foreign Exchange market for 11 (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into Insurance Ireland data pooling system* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Insurance Ireland to assess whether the conditions of access to its Insurance Link data pooling system may restrict competition, in (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines AB InBev €200 million for restricting cross-border sales of beer* The European Commission has fined AB InBev €200 409 000 for breaching EU antitrust rules. AB InBev, the world’s biggest beer company, has abused its dominant position on the Belgian beer market by (...)

State aid: Commission approves provisional measure ensuring security of local electricity supply in Slovakia* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules the compensation granted by Slovakia to electric utility company Slovenské Elektrárne a.s. for temporarily supplying a (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Telia Company’s proposed acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting by Telia Company under the EU Merger Regulation. The (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Mastercard and Visa to cut inter-regional interchange fees* The European Commission has made commitments offered by Mastercard and Visa legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The companies will significantly reduce (on average by around 40%) (...)

State aid: Commission approves €385 million support for production of electricity from renewable sources in Lithuania* The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a scheme to support electricity production from renewable energy sources in Lithuania. The measure, open to all (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Liberty House Group purchase of ArcelorMittal’s divestment businesses* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, Liberty House Group as a suitable purchaser of several ArcelorMittal steel plants, sold under commitments made by (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Nidec’s acquisition of Embraco, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition by Nidec of Embraco, Whirlpool’s refrigeration compressor business. The approval is conditional on compliance with (...)

Mergers: Commission fines General Electric €52 million for providing incorrect information in LM Wind takeover* The European Commission has fined General Electric €52 million for providing incorrect information during the Commission’s investigation under the EU Merger Regulation of GE’s planned (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statements of Objections to Valve and five videogame publishers on “geo-blocking” of PC video games* The European Commission has informed Valve, owner of the “Steam” video game distribution platform, and five videogame publishers, of its preliminary view that the (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to BMW, Daimler and VW for restricting competition on emission cleaning technology* The European Commission has informed BMW, Daimler and VW (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche) of its preliminary view that they have breached EU antitrust rules from (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Nike €12.5 million for restricting cross-border sales of merchandising products* The European Commission has fined Nike €12.5 million for banning traders from selling licensed merchandise to other countries within the EEA. This restriction concerned merchandising (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Danish Agro’s acquisition of Konekesko’s Baltic and Finnish agrimachinery businesses, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition by Danish Agro of Konekesko’s agricultural machinery distribution (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Novelis’ proposed acquisition of Aleris* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Aleris by Novelis under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the proposed (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson by Marsh & McLennan Companies, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (“JLT”) by Marsh & McLennan Companies (“MMC”). The (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Google €1.49 billion for abusive practices in online advertising* The European Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance by imposing a number of restrictive clauses in contracts with third-party (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Asco by Spirit, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Asco by Spirit. Both companies are active in the aerospace equipment industry worldwide. The approval is conditional on (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into E.ON’s proposed acquisition of Innogy* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Innogy by E.ON under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission has concerns that the proposed (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Sky on cross-border pay-TV services* The European Commission has made commitments offered by Disney, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Sky legally binding under EU antitrust rules. (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines car safety equipment suppliers € 368 million in cartel settlement* The European Commission has fined Autoliv and TRW a total of € 368 277 000 for breaching EU antitrust rules. Takata was not fined as it revealed the cartels to the Commission. The companies took part (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into public financing of Øresund fixed rail-road link* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether Danish and Swedish public support for the Øresund fixed rail-road link is in line with EU State aid rules. This (...)

State aid: Commission approves support for four floating demonstration offshore wind farms in France* The European Commission has found four French projects promoting electricity generation from renewable wind energy sources to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measures will further (...)

Mergers: Commission alleges Telefónica breached commitments given to secure clearance of E-Plus acquisition* The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Telefónica Deutschland alleging the company breached commitments it offered to secure the Commission’s approval under the EU (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the farmed Atlantic salmon sector* The European Commission can confirm that on 19 February 2019 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of several companies in the sector of farmed (...)

Mergers: Commission approves the acquisition of joint control of Andromeda, Nireus and Selonda by Amerra and Mubadala, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of joint control over Andromeda, Nireus and Selonda, all active in (...)

Mergers: Commission approves merger between Amcor and Bemis, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the merger between Amcor and Bemis. Both companies manufacture flexible packaging products worldwide. The approval is conditional on the (...)

Mergers: Commission prohibits Siemens’ proposed acquisition of Alstom* The European Commission has prohibited Siemens’ proposed acquisition of Alstom under the EU Merger Regulation. The merger would have harmed competition in markets for railway signalling systems and very high-speed trains. The (...)

Mergers: Commission prohibits Wieland’s proposed acquisition of Aurubis Rolled Products and Schwermetall* The European Commission has prohibited, under the EU Merger Regulation, Wieland’s proposed acquisition of Aurubis Rolled Products and Aurubis’ stake in Schwermetall. It had serious concerns (...)

Report on Competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector (2009-2017)* On 28 January 2019, the European Commission adopted the Report ‘European competition authorities working together for affordable and innovative medicines’ on competition enforcement in the pharmaceutical sector. The (...)

State aid: Commission approves €36 million Polish investment aid to LG Chem’s electric vehicles batteries plant* The European Commission has found Poland’s €36 million investment aid to chemical company LG Chem for a new electric vehicle batteries plant in the Dolnoślaskie region to be in line with (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Mastercard €570 million for obstructing merchants’ access to cross-border card payment services* The European Commission has fined the card scheme Mastercard €570 566 000 for limiting the possibility for merchants to benefit from better conditions offered by banks (...)

Mergers: Commission approves BASF’s acquisition of Solvay’s nylon business, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Solvay’s nylon business by BASF. The approval is conditional on the divestiture of a remedy package. (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into tax treatment of Nike in the Netherlands* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to examine whether tax rulings granted by the Netherlands to Nike may have given the company an unfair advantage over its competitors, (...)

State aid: Commission to prolong EU State aid rules and launch evaluation* The European Commission plans to prolong for two years seven sets of State aid rules, otherwise expiring in 2020. The Commission has also launched today an evaluation of those rules and of other State aid rules to (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections in US Dollar supra-sovereign, sovereign and agency bond trading cartel* The European Commission has informed four banks of its preliminary view that they have breached EU antitrust rules by colluding, in periods from 2009 to 2015, to distort (...)

State aid: Commission concludes Gibraltar gave around €100 million of illegal tax advantages to multinational companies* The European Commission has found that Gibraltar’s corporate tax exemption regime for interest and royalties, as well as five tax rulings, are illegal under EU State aid (...)

State aid: Commission approves plan by France, Germany, Italy and the UK to give €1.75 billion public support to joint research and innovation project in microelectronics* The European Commission has found that an integrated project jointly notified by France, Germany, Italy and the UK for (...)

State aid: Commission approves reductions in renewable electricity and cogeneration surcharges for energy-intensive companies in Greece* The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, reductions granted to energy-intensive companies on a surcharge to finance support for (...)

State aid: Commission approves Bavarian project for Gigabit broadband networks* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a Bavarian project to deploy very high capacity networks in six municipalities. The aid will bring very fast broadband to customers in areas where the (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines BEH Group € 77 million for blocking access to key natural gas infrastructure in Bulgaria* The European Commission has fined Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), its gas supply subsidiary Bulgargaz and its gas infrastructure subsidiary Bulgartransgaz (the BEH group) €77 (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Guess €40 million for anticompetitive agreements to block cross-border sales* The European Commission today fined the clothing company Guess €39 821 000 for restricting retailers from online advertising and selling cross-border to consumers in other Member States (...)

State aid: Romania needs to recover incompatible aid from petrochemical company Oltchim* The European Commission has found that Romanian petrochemical company Oltchim received around €335 million of incompatible aid from Romania, since the company’s failed privatisation in September 2012. (...)

State aid: Commission finds no aid in €1.1 billion extension of Athens International Airport concession* The European Commission has authorised Greece, under EU State aid rules, to extend by 20 years the concession granted to AIA to operate Athens International Airport. The fee AIA will pay for (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ batteries and portable lighting business by Energizer, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ batteries and portable lighting business by (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Houghton by Quaker, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Houghton by Quaker, both producers of industrial lubricants. The decision is conditional on the divestment of (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Gemalto by Thales, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Gemalto by Thales. The approval is conditional on the divestment of Thales’ general purpose hardware security (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition by Vodafone of Liberty Global’s business in Czechia, Germany, Hungary and Romania* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess Vodafone’s proposed acquisition of Liberty Global’s business in (...)

State aid: Commission approves €350 million per year in public funding to promote shift of freight transport from road to rail in Germany* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a German aid scheme to promote the shift of freight traffic from road to rail. The scheme will (...)

Antitrust: Commission imposes binding obligations on TenneT to increase electricity trading capacity between Denmark and Germany* The European Commission has adopted a decision rendering legally binding commitments offered by German grid operator TenneT to significantly increase cross-border (...)

State aid: Commission refers Romania to Court for failure to recover illegal aid worth up to €92 million* The European Commission has decided to refer Romania to the European Court of Justice for failing to fully recover illegal State aid worth up to €92 million from Viorel and Ioan Micula and (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Armstrong’s ceilings business outside the Americas by Knauf, subject to conditions* The European Commission has conditionally approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Armstrong World Industries’ ceilings business outside the Americas (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Visa and Mastercard on inter-regional interchange fees* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered separately by Visa and Mastercard to address competition concerns relating to (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Fibria by Suzano, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Fibria by Suzano, both active in the production and supply of wood pulp from eucalyptus trees. The decision is conditional (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of VDM by Aperam in nickel alloy industry* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of VDM by Aperam under the EU Merger Regulation. At this stage, the Commission (...)

State aid: Commission approves €600 million in public support for innovative solar power installations in France* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a measure to support innovative installations for electricity production from solar energy. The measure will further (...)

State aid: Commission approves aid-free privatisation of German HSH Nordbank* The European Commission has approved the sale of HSH Nordbank by the German Länder of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein to private investors, after finding the sale was carried out through an open, competitive and (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into airline ticket distribution services* The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether agreements between booking system providers Amadeus and Sabre on the one hand, and airlines and travel agents on the other, may (...)

State aid: Commission finds no aid given to container terminal operators in Belgium’s Port of Antwerp* The European Commission has concluded that reductions in compensation payments granted by the state-owned Port of Antwerp to two container terminal operators were granted on market terms and (...)

State aid: Commission approves €107 million public support for greener buses in Germany* The European Commission has found German plans to support the retrofitting of diesel buses used for public transport to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure should contribute to reducing nitrogen (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Europac by DS Smith, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Europac by DS Smith, both manufacturers of paper and packaging products. The decision is conditional on the divestment (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Disney in pay-TV investigation* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by Disney to address competition concerns relating to contractual clauses preventing the cross-border (...)

State aid: Romania needs to recover around €60 million of incompatible aid from energy producer CE Hunedoara* The European Commission has found that energy producer Complexul Energetic Hunedoara (CE Hunedoara) received around €60 million of incompatible State aid from Romania through four (...)

State aid: Commission approves public support for natural gas interconnector between Greece and Bulgaria* The European Commission has found Bulgarian and Greek plans to support the construction and operation of a natural gas interconnector to be in line with EU State aid rules. The project (...)

Mergers: Commission clears the creation of six joint ventures by Daimler and BMW, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of six joint ventures by Daimler and BMW, subject to conditions. Daimler and BMW, both active in car (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Disney’s acquisition of parts of Fox, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of parts of Fox by Disney, both US based global media companies. The decision is conditional on full (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into new joint venture proposed by steel suppliers Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed creation of a joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp, under the EU Merger (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Mars’ acquisition of AniCura, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of AniCura, a veterinary clinic chain, by Mars, a supplier of pet food, including dietetic pet food. The approval is (...)

Competition/Agriculture: Commission publishes report on application of competition rules in the agricultural sector* The European Commission has published the first report on the application of competition rules in the agricultural sector. The report shows that the work of European competition (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into measures in favour of Ryanair at Frankfurt-Hahn airport in Germany* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether measures in favour of Ryanair at the German airport of Frankfurt-Hahn are in line with (...)

State aid: Commission approves €200 million in public support for renewable energy for self-suppliers of electricity in France* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a measure to support electricity production from renewable sources for self-consumption in France until (...)

State aid: Commission approves €306 million in Greek public funding for the construction of southern section of E65 motorway* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules Greek public funding of €306 million for the construction of the southern section of the Central Greece (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of GitHub by Microsoft* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of GitHub by Microsoft. The Commission concluded that effective competition in the relevant markets would continue and Microsoft would (...)

State aid: Commission approves extension of Danish tonnage tax scheme to new types of vessels* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules the extension of the existing Danish tonnage tax scheme to additional types of vessels. This will encourage ship registration in Europe (...)

State aid: Commission approves Slovakia’s €125 million investment aid to Jaguar Land Rover* The European Commission has concluded that Slovakia’s €125 million investment aid to Jaguar Land Rover is in line with EU State aid rules. The aid will contribute to the development of the region of Nitra, (...)

State aid: Commission approves Hungary’s €45 million investment aid to BorsodChem* The European Commission has found Hungary’s €45 million investment aid to chemical company BorsodChem Zrt to be in line with EU State aid rules. The aid will contribute to the development of the region of Northern (...)

Antitrust: Commission invites comments on future regime for liner shipping consortia* The European Commission is inviting comments on the legal framework exempting liner shipping consortia from EU antitrust rules that prohibit anticompetitive agreements between companies, known as the (...)

State aid: Commission approves €3.5 billion support to three offshore windfarms in Belgium* The European Commission has found Belgian plans to support three offshore windfarm projects to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will further EU energy and climate goals without unduly (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Slovak rail company ZSSK for obstruction during inspection* The European Commission has informed Slovak rail company ZSSK of its preliminary view that the company obstructed a Commission inspection by giving incorrect information and (...)

State aid: Commission investigation did not find that Luxembourg gave selective tax treatment to McDonald’s* The Commission has found that the non-taxation of certain McDonald’s profits in Luxembourg did not lead to illegal State aid, as it is in line with national tax laws and the (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into possible collusion between BMW, Daimler and the VW group on clean emission technology* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether BMW, Daimler and VW (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche) colluded, in breach of EU (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Apple’s acquisition of Shazam* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple. The Commission concluded that the merger would not adversely affect competition in the European Economic Area or any (...)

State aid: Commission approves three support measures for renewable energy in Denmark* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules three schemes to support electricity production from wind and solar in Denmark in 2018 and 2019. Denmark has a goal of supplying 50% of its (...)

State aid: Commission approves new Slovenian commitment package for Nova Ljubljanska Banka* The European Commission has concluded that Slovenia’s aid for Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB) remains compatible with EU State aid rules on the basis of a new commitment package submitted by the Slovenian (...)

State aid: Commission approves most of the electricity contribution reductions granted to electricity-intensive companies in France in 2003-15 and asks France to recover part of the reductions* The European Commission has approved most of the electricity contribution reductions granted to (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Total Produce’s acquisition of Dole, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition by Total Produce of joint control over Dole. Both companies supply bagged salads, bananas and other fresh fruit and (...)

State aid: Commission approves €500 million in German public funding to promote energy efficiency in rail transport* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a German scheme to support railway companies that invest in energy efficiency technologies. The measure will promote (...)

State aid: Commission approves French support for tidal energy demonstration plant Raz Blanchard* The European Commission has found a French project promoting electricity generation from tidal energy to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will contribute further the EU’s energy and (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines four consumer electronics manufacturers for fixing online resale prices* The European Commission today fined, in four separate decisions, consumer electronics manufacturers Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer for imposing fixed or minimum resale prices on (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into KME’s proposed acquisition of competing copper products supplier MKM* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of MKM by KME, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Gemalto by Thales* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Gemalto by Thales under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merger (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Google €4.34 billion for illegal practices regarding Android mobile devices to strengthen dominance of Google’s search engine* The European Commission has fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Since 2011, Google has imposed illegal restrictions (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Siemens proposed acquisition of Alstom* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Alstom by Siemens, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merger may (...)

State aid: Commission approves public funding for five ferry connections between Croatian islands and mainland* The European Commission has found Croatian plans to grant HRK 250 million (€34 million) to ensure regular ferry connections on five routes between Croatian islands and the mainland to (...)

State aid: Spain needs to recover around €167 million of incompatible aid from postal operator Correos* The European Commission has found that Correos, the publicly-owned Spanish postal operator, was overcompensated for the delivery of its universal postal service obligation between 2004 and (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of UPC Austria by T-Mobile Austria* The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of UPC Austria by T-Mobile Austria. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition (...)

Antitrust: Commission consults stakeholders on draft guidelines to help national courts estimate the economic harm caused by cartels* The European Commission is inviting comments on draft guidelines to help national courts estimate the share of price increases caused by a cartel that are (...)

State aid: Commission approves reductions of nuclear levy for electro-intensive users in Slovakia* The European Commission has found Slovakia’s plan to grant reductions on a nuclear levy to certain electro-intensive users to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will contribute to the (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Tronox’s acquisition of Cristal, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Cristal by Tronox, both major suppliers of titanium dioxide pigment. The approval is conditional on full compliance with (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Zodiac and Fluidra pool equipment joint venture, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed creation of a joint venture between the swimming pool equipment businesses of Zodiac and Fluidra. The approval is (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Solvay’s nylon business by BASF* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Solvay’s global nylon business by BASF, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into restrictions to the free flow of gas sold by Qatar Petroleum in Europe* The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether supply agreements between Qatar Petroleum companies exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) and (...)

State aid: Commission finds Luxembourg gave illegal tax benefits to Engie; has to recover around €120 million* The European Commission has found that Luxembourg allowed two Engie group companies to avoid paying taxes on almost all their profits for about a decade. This is illegal under EU State (...)

State aid: Commission approves €165 million of investments by Croatia for the extension of the Istrian Y motorway* The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules a Croatian plan to prolong the Istrian Y motorway concession agreement between Croatia and the company Bina-Istra. (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Tele2 NL by T-Mobile NL in the Netherlands* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Tele2 NL by T-Mobile NL under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the styrene monomer purchasing sector* The European Commission can confirm that on 5 June 2018 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of companies active in styrene monomer purchasing. (...)

Commission welcomes provisional political agreement reached by European Parliament and Council on new rules to make national competition authorities even more effective enforcers* The European Commission welcomes the provisional political agreement reached today by the European Parliament and (...)

Mergers: Commission confirms approval of acquisition of Dutch cable TV operator Ziggo by Liberty Global, subject to conditions* The European Commission has reapproved with conditions, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Ziggo by Liberty Global. The merger was first approved in (...)

State aid: Commission approves compensation granted by Denmark to Post Danmark for its universal service obligation* The European Commission has concluded that the compensation granted by Denmark to Post Danmark to fulfil its public service mission during the period 2017-2019 is in line with (...)

State aid: Germany needs to recover illegal aid from certain large electricity users exempted from network charges in Germany in 2012-2013* The European Commission has concluded that the exemption for certain large electricity users in Germany from network charges in 2012-2013 was against EU (...)

Antitrust: Commission imposes binding obligations on Gazprom to enable free flow of gas at competitive prices in Central and Eastern European gas markets* The European Commission has adopted a decision imposing on Gazprom a set of obligations that address the Commission’s competition concerns (...)

Mergers: Commission clears ArcelorMittal’s acquisition of Ilva, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Ilva by ArcelorMittal. The decision is conditional on the divestiture of an extensive remedy package to preserve (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Rockwell Collins by UTC, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Rockwell Collins by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) in the aerospace sector. The decision is conditional on (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the metal packaging sector* The European Commission can confirm that on 24 April 2018 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of companies active in the metal packaging sector. The (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Mefro Wheels by Accuride, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of steel wheels manufacturer Mefro Wheels by its competitor Accuride. The decision is conditional on the divestment (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of parts of Bayer’s Crop Science business by BASF, subject to conditions* The European Commission has conditionally approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of parts of Bayer’s Crop Science business by BASF. This transaction is related to the (...)

Mergers: Commission fines Altice €125 million for breaching EU rules and controlling PT Portugal before obtaining merger approval* The European Commission has imposed a €124.5 million fine on Altice, the multinational cable and telecommunications company based in the Netherlands, for (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Apple’s proposed acquisition of Shazam* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merger could (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections concerning distribution of sports media rights and other related rights* The European Commission can confirm that on 10 April 2018 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of companies (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines eight producers of capacitors €254 million for participating in cartel* The European Commission has fined Elna, Hitachi Chemical, Holy Stone, Matsuo, NEC Tokin, Nichicon, Nippon Chemi-Con, Rubycon € 253 935 000. Together with the immunity applicant, Sanyo, they (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer. The merger is conditional on the divestiture of an extensive remedy package, which addresses the parties’ (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into German grid operator TenneT for limiting cross border electricity capacity with Denmark* The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether German grid operator TenneT’s limitation of capacity from Western Denmark into (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines maritime car carriers and car parts suppliers a total of €546 million in three separate cartel settlements* In three separate decisions, the European Commission has fined four maritime car carriers €395 million, two suppliers of spark plugs €76 million, and two (...)

Mergers: Commission to assess the acquisition of Shazam by Apple* The European Commission has accepted a request from Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden to assess under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple. The Commission considers the (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Discovery’s acquisition of Scripps, subject to conditions; rejects referral request by Polish competition authority* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Scripps by Discovery, both US based global media (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Qualcomm €997 million for abuse of dominant market position* The European Commission has fined Qualcomm €997m for abusing its market dominance in LTE baseband chipsets. Qualcomm prevented rivals from competing in the market by making significant payments to a key (...)

Mergers: Commission refers the acquisition of Pini Polonia by Smithfield to the Polish competition authority* The European Commission has referred the proposed transaction between Smithfield Foods of the US and Pini Polonia of Poland to the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Qualcomm’s acquisition of NXP, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of NXP, based in the Netherlands, by Qualcomm of the US. The approval is conditional on full compliance with (...)

Competition: Commission welcomes new rules that benefit consumers by promoting more competition in processing of card payments* The European Commission has issued new requirements that ensure independence of payment card schemes and processing entities, to enhance competition in the card (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition by Lufthansa of Air Berlin subsidiary LGW, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation Lufthansa’s proposed acquisition of certain Air Berlin assets, through the entity Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter GmbH (...)

Mergers: Commission approves proposed acquisition of parts of Air Berlin by easyJet* The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of certain assets of Air Berlin by easyJet. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not (...)

Antitrust: International Skating Union’s restrictive penalties on athletes breach EU competition rules* The European Commission has decided that International Skating Union (ISU) rules imposing severe penalties on athletes participating in speed skating competitions that are not authorised by (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to AB InBev for preventing cheaper imports of beer into Belgium* The European Commission has informed AB InBev of its preliminary view that the company has abused its dominant position on the Belgian beer market, by hindering cheaper imports (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Bard by BD, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Bard by BD. Both companies supply medical devices. The decision is conditional on the divestment of BD’s core needle biopsy (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of FTE by Valeo, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of FTE by Valeo, both automotive equipment suppliers. The decision is conditional on the divestment of Valeo’s passive (...)

State aid: Commission finds Luxembourg gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon worth around €250 million* The European Commission has concluded that Luxembourg granted undue tax benefits to Amazon of around €250 million. This is illegal under EU State aid rules because it allowed Amazon to pay (...)

State aid: Commission refers Ireland to Court for failure to recover illegal tax benefits from Apple worth up to €13 billion* The European Commission has decided to refer Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover from Apple illegal State aid worth up to €13 billion, as (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Lithuanian Railways €28 million for hindering competition on rail freight market* The European Commission has fined Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos geležinkeliai) an amount of €27 873 000 for hindering competition on the rail freight market, in breach of EU antitrust (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Scania €880 million for participating in trucks cartel* The European Commission has found that Scania broke EU antitrust rules. It colluded for 14 years with five other truck manufacturers on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of new technologies to meet (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Pelican Rouge by Selecta, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of vending services provider Pelican Rouge of the Netherlands by Selecta of Switzerland. The clearance is (...)

State aid: Commission approves German rescue aid to Air Berlin* The European Commission has endorsed under EU state aid rules Germany’s plans to grant Air Berlin a temporary €150 million bridging loan. The measure will allow for the orderly wind-down of the insolvent airline Air Berlin without (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer* The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission has concerns that the merger may reduce (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Magnesita Refratários by RHI, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Magnesita Refratários by RHI. The decision is conditional on the divestment of the two companies’ overlapping (...)

Mergers: Commission conditionally clears both FMC’s acquisition of parts of DuPont’s crop protection business and DuPont’s acquisition of FMC’s Health and Nutrition business* The European Commission has conditionally approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, FMC’s proposed acquisition of parts of (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Teva on ’pay for delay’ pharma agreement* The European Commission has informed pharmaceutical company Teva of its preliminary view that an agreement concluded with Cephalon was in breach of EU antitrust rules. Under the agreement, Teva (...)

Mergers: Commission alleges Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric, and Canon breached EU merger procedural rules* The Commission has sent three separate Statements of Objections to Merck and Sigma-Aldrich, General Electric and Canon alleging they breached EU merger rules: General Electric, (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Opel by Peugeot* The European Commission has unconditionally approved the acquisition of Opel by Peugeot, under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the relevant markets. (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Google €2.42 billion for abusing dominance as search engine by giving illegal advantage to own comparison shopping service* The European Commission has fined Google €2.42 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Google has abused its market dominance as a search (...)

State aid: Commission approves French support for construction of €1.3 billion Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport express rail line* The European Commission has approved French support measures for the construction of an express railway line between Paris and the Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Huber Silica by Evonik, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation Evonik’s acquisition of Huber Silica. The decision is conditional on the divestment of some of both companies’ activities related to (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines three car lighting system producers €27 million in cartel settlement* The European Commission has fined Automotive Lighting and Hella a total of €26 744 000 for participating in an automotive lighting cartel, in breach of EU antitrust rules. Valeo was not fined as it (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Intrum Justitia by Nordic Capital, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Intrum Justitia by Nordic Capital. The decision is conditional on the divestment of the companies’ (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Actelion by Johnson & Johnson, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Actelion Pharmaceuticals by Johnson & Johnson. The decision is subject to conditions (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into distribution practices of clothing company Guess* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into the distribution agreements and practices of clothing manufacturer and retailer Guess. The Commission will examine (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into gas export restrictions from Romania* The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Romania’s gas transmission system operator Transgaz has been hindering gas exports from Romania to other EU Member States. The (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Vivendi’s acquisition of Telecom Italia, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved the acquisition of de facto control over Telecom Italia by Vivendi. The decision is conditional on the divestment of Telecom Italia’s stake in Persidera. Telecom (...)

Mergers: Commission alleges Altice breached EU rules by early implementation of PT Portugal acquisition* The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections alleging that multinational telecommunications company Altice (the Netherlands), breached the EU Merger Regulation by implementing (...)

Mergers: Commission fines Facebook €110 million for providing misleading information about WhatsApp takeover* The European Commission has fined Facebook €110 million for providing incorrect or misleading information during the Commission’s 2014 investigation under the EU Merger Regulation of (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into Aspen Pharma’s pricing practices for cancer medicines* The European Commission has opened a formal investigation into concerns that Aspen Pharma has engaged in excessive pricing concerning five life-saving cancer medicines. The Commission (...)

Mergers: Commission approves merger between chemical producers Reichhold and Polynt, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the merger between chemical producers Reichhold (US) and Polynt (Italy). Both produce unsaturated polyester resins, (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Brocade by Broadcom, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of networking products supplier Brocade (US) by semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom (US/Singapore), subject to (...)

Antitrust: Commission publishes final report on e-commerce sector inquiry* The European Commission’s final report on the e-commerce sector inquiry identifies business practices that may restrict competition. It allows the Commission to target its enforcement of EU antitrust rules in e-commerce (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments from Amazon on e-books* The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Amazon. The commitments address the Commission’s preliminary competition concerns relating to a number of clauses in Amazon’s (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms inspections in the mobile telecommunications sector in Sweden* The European Commission can confirm that on 25 April 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in the mobile telecommunications sector in Sweden. The (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of smart card maker Morpho by Advent International, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of identity and security solutions provider Morpho, based in France, by Advent (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of sole control of ITP by Rolls-Royce, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of aircraft engine components maker ITP (Spain) by aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce (UK). The (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Hamburg Süd by Maersk Line, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of container liner shipping company Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft KG (HSDG) of (...)

The European Commission publishes the results of an exercise, carried out by the Autorité de la concurrence and 9 other national European competition authorities, which assess the effects of the remedies adopted in Europe in the online hotel booking sector.* Background Following the (...)

Mergers: Commission clears ChemChina acquisition of Syngenta, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Syngenta (based in Switzerland) by ChemChina. The approval is conditional on the divestiture of significant parts (...)

Mergers: Commission blocks proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and London Stock Exchange* The European Commission has prohibited the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse AG and London Stock Exchange Group under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission’s investigation concluded the merger (...)

Mergers: Commission clears merger between Dow and DuPont, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed merger between US-based chemical companies Dow and DuPont. The approval is conditional in particular on the divestiture of major (...)

Antitrust: Commission proposal to make national competition authorities even more effective enforcers for the benefit of jobs and growth* The European Commission has proposed new rules to enable Member States’ competition authorities to be more effective enforcers of EU antitrust rules. The (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of LM Wind Power Holding by General Electric Company* The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of LM Wind Power of Denmark, by General Electric Company of the US. The Commission concluded that the (...)

Antitrust: Commission re-adopts decision and fines air cargo carriers €776 million for price-fixing cartel* The European Commission has re-adopted a cartel decision against 11 air cargo carriers and imposed a fine totalling € 776 465 000 for operating a price–fixing cartel. The Commission’s (...)

Antitrust: Commission introduces new anonymous whistleblower tool* A new tool to make it easier for individuals to alert the Commission about secret cartels and other antitrust violations while maintaining their anonymity has been launched by the European Commission today. Individuals can now (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Gamesa by Siemens* The European Commission has cleared unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa by Siemens. The Commission found that the transaction raises no competition concerns, (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines six car air conditioning and engine cooling suppliers € 155 million in cartel settlement* The European Commission has fined Behr, Calsonic, Denso, Panasonic, Sanden and Valeo a total of € 155 million for taking part in one or more of four cartels concerning supplies (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in sector of kraft paper and industrial paper sacks* The European Commission can confirm that on 7 March 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several companies active in the sector of kraft paper and (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of ABB’s High Voltage Cable and Cable Accessories Businesses by NKT* The European Commission has cleared unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of ABB’s high voltage cable business and power cable accessories business by (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the electricity sector in Greece* The European Commission can confirm that on 14 February 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in the generation, transmission and supply of (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines three companies €68 million for car battery recycling cartel* The European Commission has fined Campine, Eco-Bat Technologies and Recylex a total of €68 million for fixing prices for purchasing scrap automotive batteries, in breach of EU antitrust rules. A fourth (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens three investigations into suspected anticompetitive practices in e-commerce* The European Commission has launched three separate investigations to assess if certain online sales practices prevent, in breach of EU antitrust rules, consumers from enjoying cross-border (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Alere by Abbott Laboratories, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Alere by Abbott, both suppliers of clinical test systems. The decision is conditional on the divestment of (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Amazon in e-book investigation* The European Commission is inviting comments on commitments offered by Amazon to address competition concerns relating to parity clauses in contracts with publishers. The clauses may breach EU (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Morpho Detection by Smiths, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Morpho Detection, the threat detection equipment business of Safran of France, by Smiths of the UK. The (...)

Antitrust: Commission welcomes Court of Justice judgment on Animal Feed Phosphates cartel* The European Commission welcomes today’s judgment by the EU Court of Justice dismissing in its entirety Timab’s appeal against an earlier General Court ruling. The General Court (case T-456/10) had upheld (...)

Mergers: Commission alleges Facebook provided misleading information about WhatsApp takeover* The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Facebook alleging the company provided incorrect or misleading information during the Commission’s 2014 investigation under the EU Merger (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of WhiteWave by Danone, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of WhiteWave, a US-based manufacturer of packaged foods and beverages, by the French Danone group. The clearance (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines rechargeable battery producers €166 million in cartel settlement* The European Commission has fined Sony, Panasonic and Sanyo a total of €166 million. The companies and Samsung SDI coordinated prices and exchanged sensitive information on supplies of rechargeable (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Crédit Agricole, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase € 485 million for euro interest rate derivatives cartel* The European Commission has fined Crédit Agricole, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase, a total of € 485 million for participating in a cartel in euro interest rate derivatives. The (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft. The decision is conditional on compliance with a series of commitments aimed at (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of St Jude Medical by Abbott Laboratories, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of St Jude Medical by Abbott Laboratories, both US based companies that develop and market (...)

Mergers: Commission approves container liner shipping merger between Hapag-Lloyd and UASC, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of United Arab Shipping Company ("UASC") by Hapag-Lloyd of Germany, subject to (...)

Antitrust: Commission investigates practices of Czech railway incumbent České dráhy in passenger transport* The European Commission has opened an investigation to assess whether the Czech railway incumbent České dráhy, a.s. (ČD) charged prices below costs with the aim of shutting out competition in (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Sanofi’s animal health business Merial by Boehringer Ingelheim, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of the animal health business of Sanofi (Merial) of France by Boehringer (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal on code-sharing on Brussels-Lisbon route* The European Commission has informed Brussels Airlines and TAP Portugal of its preliminary view that their codeshare cooperation on passenger services between (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Alteo ARC and Alufin by Imerys, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Alteo ARC and Alufin by Imerys of France. The clearance is conditional on the divestment of Alteo (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of lasers supplier Rofin-Sinar by Coherent, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of US and German-based Rofin-Sinar by Coherent of the US. Both are global suppliers of lasers. (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into mobile telephone network sharing in Czech Republic* The European Commission has opened an investigation into a network sharing agreement between two Czech operators of mobile telephony, O2 CZ / CETIN and T-Mobile CZ. The Commission will (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into HeidelbergCement and Schwenk’s joint acquisition of Cemex Croatia* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of Cemex Croatia by HeidelbergCement and Schwenk is in line with the (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Faiveley by Wabtec, subject to conditions* Brussels, 4 October 2016 After an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation, the European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Faiveley Transport of France by US-based Wabtec. The (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed Deutsche Börse/LSE merger* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the EU Merger Regulation, whether the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse AG (DB) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) would (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to International Skating Union on its eligibility rules* The European Commission has informed the International Skating Union (ISU) of its preliminary view that the ISU rules under which athletes face severe penalties for participation in (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Vattenfall Europe Generation and Vattenfall Europe Mining by EPH and PPF Investments* The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Vattenfall Europe Generation and Vattenfall Europe Mining by Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) and (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines ARA €6 million for hindering competition on Austrian waste management market* The Commission has fined Altstoff Recycling Austria (ARA) €6 million for blocking competitors from entering the Austrian market for management of household packaging waste from 2008 to 2012, (...)

State aid: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of GDF Suez (now Engie)* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of the GDF Suez group (now Engie). The Commission has concerns that several tax rulings issued (...)

Antitrust: Commission publishes initial findings of e-commerce sector inquiry* The European Commission’s preliminary report on its e-commerce sector inquiry confirms the fast growth of e-commerce in the EU and identifies business practices that might restrict competition and limit consumer (...)

Antitrust: Commission welcomes General Court judgments upholding its Lundbeck decision in first pharma pay-for-delay case Today the General Court upheld the Commission’s Lundbeck decision and ruled for the first time that pharma pay-for-delay agreements breach EU antitrust rules. In such (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Hutchison/VimpelCom joint venture in Italy, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation a proposed telecommunications joint venture between Hutchison and VimpelCom in Italy. The approval is conditional on the (...)

State aid: Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion* The European Commission has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other (...)

State aid: Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion* The European Commission has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed merger between Dow and DuPont* The Commission has opened an in-depth probe to assess whether the proposed merger of Dow and DuPont is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission will investigate further whether the deal (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Konecranes’ acquisition of Terex’s crane and container handling business, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition by Konecranes of Terex’s crane and container handling business, MHPS. The decision is (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Boehringer Ingelheim’s consumer health business by Sanofi, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the consumer health business of Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim by Sanofi of (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Vodafone/Liberty Global telecoms joint venture, subject to conditions; rejects referral request by Dutch competition authority* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed creation of a joint venture in the Netherlands by mobile (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Paramount on cross-border pay-TV services* The European Commission has made commitments offered by Paramount legally binding under EU antitrust rules. These address the Commission’s concerns regarding certain clauses in film licensing contracts for (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by ISDA and Markit on credit default swaps* The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding commitments to licence inputs for credit default swaps, offered separately by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Arianespace by ASL, subject to conditions* Following an in-depth review, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Arianespace by Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), a joint venture between Airbus and Safran. (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Meda by Mylan subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Meda AB of Sweden by Mylan N.V. of the Netherlands, subject to conditions. Both companies operate in the pharmaceutical (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines truck producers € 2.93 billion for participating in a cartel* The European Commission has found that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco, and DAF broke EU antitrust rules. These truck makers colluded for 14 years on truck pricing and on passing on the costs of (...)

Antitrust: Commission takes further steps in investigations alleging Google’s comparison shopping and advertising-related practices breach EU rules* The Commission has sent two Statements of Objections to Google. The Commission has reinforced, in a supplementary Statement of Objections, its (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of an automotive component business of Faurecia by Plastic Omnium, subject to conditions* The Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the automotive plastic exterior component business of Faurecia by Compagnie (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by container liner shipping companies on price transparency* The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by fourteen container liner shipping companies. The commitments aim to increase price (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in rail passenger transport sector* The European Commission can confirm that on 28 June 2016 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in the sector of rail passenger transport in several Member States. The Commission has concerns (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into AB InBev’s practices on Belgian beer market* The European Commission has opened an investigation, on its own initiative, to assess whether Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (AB InBev) has abused its dominant position on the Belgian beer market by (...)

Antitrust: Commission welcomes entry into force of new rules to boost card payment transparency* The European Commission welcomes the entry into force on 9 June 2016 of new rules to make the costs of payments with debit or credit cards more transparent to retailers and consumers and allow them (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Sysco’s acquisition of Brakes* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Brakes, the largest UK food distributor, by Sysco, the largest US food distributor. The Commission found that the takeover would not (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of building materials group Italcementi by HeidelbergCement, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Italian building materials group Italcementi by its German competitor (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Pometon € 6.2 million for participation in steel abrasives cartel* The European Commission has found that Italian abrasives producer Pometon S.p.A. breached EU antitrust rules by participating in a cartel to coordinate steel abrasives prices in Europe for almost four (...)

Mergers: Commission approves AB InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewer, by AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer. The clearance is (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Wabtec’s proposed takeover of railway equipment manufacturer Faiveley* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of Faiveley Transport of France by Westinghouse Air Brake (...)

Mergers: Commission prohibits Hutchison’s proposed acquisition of Telefónica UK* The Commission has blocked the proposed acquisition of O2 by Hutchison under the EU Merger Regulation. It had strong concerns that UK mobile customers would have had less choice and paid higher prices as a result of (...)

Mergers: Commission approves container liner shipping merger between CMA CGM and NOL, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Neptune Oriental Lines ("NOL") of Singapore by rival CMA CGM, a French shipping company (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments by ISDA and Markit on credit default swaps* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered separately by ISDA and by Markit to address competition concerns relating to the licensing of data and (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Paramount Pictures in pay-TV investigation* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by Paramount Pictures to address competition concerns relating to contractual clauses (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Google on Android operating system and applications* The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company has, in breach of EU antitrust rules, abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on (...)

Antitrust: successful market opening allows early termination of commitments in Deutsche Bahn case* The European Commission has relieved Deutsche Bahn ahead of schedule from commitments made binding in December 2013, as several competitors have now entered the German railway traction current (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines Riberebro €5.2 million for participation in canned mushrooms cartel* The European Commission has found that Spanish canned and fresh vegetable company Riberebro participated in a cartel to coordinate prices and allocate customers of canned mushrooms in Europe for (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed Hutchison/VimpelCom joint venture in Italy* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed joint venture between the telecommunications activities of Hutchison and VimpelCom in Italy is (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Statoil Fuel and Retail’s takeover of Shell’s Dansk Fuels, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shell’s Danish retail and wholesale fuels business, Dansk Fuels, by Alimentation (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Allergan Generics by Teva, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the generics business of Allergan of Ireland, by Teva of Israel, subject to conditions. Both companies (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into ASL’s acquisition of Arianespace* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Arianespace by Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL) under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission has concerns (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Dentsply acquisition of dental equipment supplier Sirona, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of dental equipment supplier Sirona by Dentsply, both of the US, subject to conditions. (...)

Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by container liner shipping companies* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by fifteen container liner shipping companies to address concerns relating to concerted practices. The (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Staples’ acquisition of Office Depot, subject to conditions* Following an in-depth review, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of office supplies distributor Office Depot by Staples, subject to conditions. Following (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines car parts producers € 137 789 000 in cartel settlement* The European Commission has imposed fines of € 137 789 000 on Melco (Mitsubishi Electric) and Hitachi for participating in a cartel for alternators and starters with another firm, Denso, in breach of EU antitrust (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Navitaire by Amadeus* The Commission approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of airline software provider Navitaire by rival Amadeus. The Commission concluded the companies’ IT solutions target different types of airlines and are (...)

Mergers: Commission approves Ball’s acquisition of Rexam, subject to conditions* Following an in-depth review, the Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of beverage can manufacturer Rexam by rival Ball, subject to the divestment of 12 plants in the EEA. Ten of (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into acquisition of oilfield service provider Baker Hughes by Halliburton* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of oilfield service supplier Baker Hughes by rival Halliburton (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of small package delivery services provider TNT Express by FedEx* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of TNT Express by FedEx Corporation. Both companies offer world-wide small package delivery (...)

Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Elster by Honeywell, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Elster by Honeywell, subject to divestment of Honeywell’s gas metering business. The activities of the Elster (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Trafigura’s acquisition of de facto sole control of Nyrstar* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of sole control of Nyrstar of Belgium by Trafigura of the Netherlands. Trafigura is one of the world’s leading independent (...)

Antitrust: Commission accepts commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding to open up Bulgarian wholesale electricity market* The European Commission has adopted a decision that renders legally binding the commitments offered by Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) to end competition restrictions on (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends two Statements of Objections on exclusivity payments and predatory pricing to Qualcomm* The Commission informed Qualcomm of its preliminary conclusions that the company may have illegally paid a major customer for exclusively using its chipsets and sold chipsets (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation in the biofuels sector concerning ethanol benchmarks* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to scrutinise whether three ethanol producers have, in breach of EU antitrust rules, manipulated ethanol benchmarks (...)

Mergers: Commission continues investigation of Hutchison 3G /Telefónica UK merger without referral to UK* Commission does not refer investigation of Hutchison/Telefónica UK merger to UK The European Commission has decided not to refer the planned acquisition of Telefónica UKby Hutchison to the (...)

State aid: Commission opens formal investigation into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of McDonald’s* The Commission has opened a formal probe into Luxembourg’s tax treatment of McDonald’s. Its preliminary view is that a tax ruling granted by Luxembourg may have granted McDonald’s an advantageous tax (...)

Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in rail passenger transport sector* The European Commission can confirm that on 24 November 2015 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in the sector of rail passenger transport and related services in Austria. The Commission (...)

The EU Commission clears a merger, subject to remedies, on the market of the chemicals for the mining industry (Solvay / Cytec)* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Cytec by Solvay. The decision is conditional on Solvay’s divestment (...)

Antitrust: new Commission Guidelines on joint selling of olive oil, beef and veal, and arable crops - frequently asked questions* Antitrust: new Commission Guidelines on joint selling of olive oil, beef and veal, and arable crops - frequently asked questions 1. What is the purpose of the new (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Avago’s acquisition of Broadcom* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Broadcom Corporation by Avago Technologies Limited. Both companies are global manufacturers of semiconductors. The Commission concluded that the (...)

Mergers: Commission clears acquisition of Telecity by Equinix, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of data centre operator Telecity by rival Equinix subject to the divestment of a number of data centres in Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt. The (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends statement of objections to suspected participants in electrolytic capacitors cartel* The European Commission has informed ten manufacturers of electrolytic capacitors that it suspects them of having participated in a cartel, in breach of EU antitrust rules. (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends statement of objections to suspected participants in electrolytic capacitors cartel* The European Commission is inviting comments on whether national competition authorities in EU Member States should be given additional tools to enforce EU antitrust rules. The (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Hutchison’s proposed acquisition of Telefónica UK* The European Commission will investigate in-depth Hutchison’s takeover of Telefónica UK. The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation to assess (...)

Antitrust: Commission welcomes Court judgment confirming cartel facilitator’s liability* The European Commission welcomes today’s ruling by the EU Court of Justice upholding an earlier General Court judgment and thereby a Commission decision of 2009 to hold AC Treuhand liable under EU antitrust (...)

Antitrust: Commission fines suppliers of optical disc drives € 116 million for cartel* The European Commission has fined eight optical disc drive suppliers a total of €116 million for having coordinated their behaviour in relation to procurement tenders organised by two computer manufacturers, (...)

Commission decides selective tax advantages for Fiat in Luxembourg and Starbucks in the Netherlands are illegal under EU state aid rules* The European Commission has decided that Luxembourg and the Netherlands have granted selective tax advantages to Fiat Finance and Trade and Starbucks, (...)

Mergers: Commission clears Intel’s acquisition of Altera* The European Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of electronic component supplier Altera by Intel. The Commission concluded that the merged entity would continue to face effective competition in Europe. The European (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens formal investigation into International Skating Union’s eligibility rules* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into International Skating Union (ISU) rules that permanently ban skaters from competitions such as the Winter Olympics and (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of BASE Belgium by Liberty Global* The European Commission will investigate in-depth the Liberty Global/BASE Belgium takeover. The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation under the EU Merger Regulation (...)

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation into Staples’ proposed takeover of Office Depot* The European Commission will investigate in-depth the acquisition of office supplies distributor Office Depot by its competitor Staples. The European Commission has opened an in-depth (...)

Mergers: Commission approves NXP’s acquisition of Freescale, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Freescale by NXP, subject to divestment of NXP’s radio frequency power business, where the takeover could have led to higher prices and less competition. (...)

European Commission - Fact Sheet Commission welcomes General Court rulings upholding TV and computer monitor tubes cartel decision* The European Commission welcomes today’s judgments by the EU General Court in the TV and computer monitor tubes cartel The European Commission welcomes today’s (...)

Commission clears acquisition of BG Group by Royal Dutch Shell* The transaction was cleared as it will not grant Shell market power in oil and gas exploration, LNG liquefaction or LNG wholesale supply. Shell will also not be able to prevent competitors from using its gas infrastructure in the (...)

Commission opens in-depth investigation into acquisition of parts of Walki’s industrial packaging division by Mondi* The Commission has concerns that Mondi’s acquisition of two of Walki’s packaging plants could lead to less choice and higher prices for customers of certain packaging materials (...)

Commission approves acquisition of Hospira by Pfizer, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Hospira by Pfizer under the EU Merger Regulation. Both companies are US based and active globally in the development and marketing of human (...)

Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of TNT by FedEx* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of TNT Express by FedEx Corporation is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. Both companies are major (...)

Commission approves Nokia´s acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent by Nokia. Both companies are global providers of telecommunications equipment and related services. The Commission concluded (...)

Commission sends Statement of Objections on cross-border provision of pay-TV services available in UK and Ireland* The European Commission has today sent a Statement of Objections to Sky UK and six major US film studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox and (...)

Commission approves Cargill’s acquisition of ADM’s industrial chocolate business, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of the industrial chocolate business of Archer Daniels Midland (’ADM’) by Cargill, subject to (...)

Commission partially refers Danish Crown / Tican merger to Denmark’s competition authority; clears proposed merger outside Denmark* The European Commission has partially referred the proposed merger between Danish Crown and Tican to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority (DCCA) at its (...)

Commission opens two formal investigations against chipset supplier Qualcomm* The European Commission has opened two formal antitrust investigations into possible abusive behaviour by Qualcomm in the field of baseband chipsets used in consumer electronic devices. The first will examine whether (...)

Commission fines cargo train operators € 49 million for cartel* The European Commission has imposed fines of € 49 154 000 on Express Interfracht, part of the Austrian railway incumbent Österreichische Bundesbahnen ("ÖBB"), and Schenker, part of the German railway incumbent Deutsche Bahn ("DB"), (...)

Commission approves acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG, subject to conditions* The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Irish airline Aer Lingus by International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). IAG is the holding company of British (...)

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to MasterCard on cross-border rules and inter-regional interchange fees* The European Commission today has sent a Statement of Objections to MasterCard. The Statement of Objections outlines the Commission’s preliminary view that MasterCard’s (...)

Commission approves acquisition of rotating equipment manufacturer Dresser-Rand by Siemens* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of rotating equipment manufacturer Dresser-Rand of the US by Siemens of Germany. Both companies supply turbo (...)

Commission fines producers and distributors € 115 865 000 for operating retail food packaging cartels* The European Commission has fined eight manufacturers and two distributors of retail food packaging trays a total of €115 865 000 for having participated in at least one of five separate (...)

Commission sends statement of objections to suspected participants in car battery recycling cartel* The European Commission has informed five lead recycling companies that it suspects them of having participated in a purchasing cartel for scrap lead-acid batteries, in breach of EU antitrust (...)

Commission market tests commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) concerning Bulgarian wholesale electricity market* The European Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by the State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH) to address competition (...)

Commission fines parking heaters producer €68 million in cartel settlement* The European Commission found that two German producers of automotive parts, Eberspächer and Webasto, have breached EU antitrust rules prohibiting cartels and restrictive business practices. They coordinated prices and (...)

Commission approves joint venture for cross-border licensing of online music between PRSfM, STIM and GEMA, subject to commitments* Following an in-depth investigation, the European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed creation of a joint venture for (...)

Commission approves acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck, subject to conditions.* The European Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck under the EU Merger Regulation. Both companies are active world-wide in the life science sector. The decision is (...)

Commission opens formal investigation into Amazon’s e-book distribution arrangements* The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into certain business practices by Amazon in the distribution of electronic books ("e-books"). The Commission will in particular investigate (...)

Commission clears acquisition of Jazztel by Orange, subject to conditions* The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Jazztel plc, a telecommunications company registered in the UK but mainly active in Spain, by rival Orange SA of France. (...)

State aid: Commission investigates transfer pricing arrangements on corporate taxation of Amazon in Luxembourg* The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to examine whether the decision by Luxembourg’s tax authorities with regard to the corporate income tax to be paid by (...)

Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into MasterCard inter-bank fees* The Commission has opened formal proceedings to investigate whether MasterCard may be hindering competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) with regard to payment cards, in breach of EU antitrust rules. The (...)

"State aid for hazardous waste treatment: the case of AVR, the Netherlands"* On 22 June 2005, the European Commission has approved € 47.3 million operating aid in favour of AVR of the Netherlands for hazardous waste disposal. € 2.4 million — compensation for the cost of acquisition of the (...)

"Commission approves aid for minimising chlorine transport"* The Commission has not laid down general rules on compatibility of State aid that has the objective to increase safety of citizens and their environment. This does not mean that such aid is always incompatible with the common market. (...)

"Main developments between 1st January and 31st May 2000 - Eight Survey on State Aid in the EU"* In April 2000 the Commission approved the Eighth Survey on State Aid in the EU, COM (2000)205. As with previous editions, the coverage of the Survey was extended further and, for the first time, (...)

Arrangement between actual or see definition forpotential competitors, i.e. undertakings operating at the same level of the production or distribution chain, covering for example research and development, production, purchasing or commercialisation. Horizontal agreements may restrict (...)

Pursuant to Article 15(3) of Regulation 1/2003, the Commission, acting on its own initiative, may submit written observations ("amicus curiae" observations) to courts of the Member States where the coherent application of Article 101 or 102 TFEU so requires. © European Commission On this topic, (...)

European competences Mandatory application and decentralisation shift: the contributions of EC Regulation 1/2003 When EC Regulation 1/2003 came into force on 1 May 2004, the application of European law by national competition authorities (NCAs), optional until then, became compulsory. When (...)

National courts play a key role in the enforcement of European competition policy. They may be called upon to apply Article 101 and/or 102 TFEU to a variety of scenarios: (i) some courts have jurisdiction over lawsuits between private parties, such as actions relating to contracts or actions (...)

The principle of direct effect enables individuals to immediately invoke a European provision before a national or European court. This principle only relates to certain European acts. Furthermore, it is subject to several conditions.The direct effect of European law is, along with the (...)

In its Best Practices for the Submission of Economic Evidence and Data Collection in cases concerning the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and in Merger cases the Office of Chief Economist defined the scope and purpose of economic analysis as follow : "Economic analysis plays a central (...)

In a Communication from the Commission - Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020 - environmental protection was defined as follow : "Any action designed to remedy or prevent damage to physical surroundings or natural resources by a beneficiary’s own activities, (...)

The European Competition Network (ECN) has been established as a forum for discussion and cooperation of European competition authorities in cases where Articles 101 and and 102 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union are applied. It should ensure an efficient division of work (...)

The European Commission and the national competition authorities in all EU Member States cooperate with each other through the European Competition Network (ECN). This creates an effective mechanism to counter companies which engage in cross-border practices restricting competition. As European (...)

Decision of the Commission pursuant to Article 101(3) of the TFEU to exempt notified agreements between companies from the prohibition of Article 101(1) of the TFEU, on the basis of an individual assessment. In broad terms, restrictive agreements qualify for exemption if their benefits to (...)

The relevant geographic market comprises the area in which the undertakings concerned are involved in the supply and Remand of products or services, in which the conditions of competition are sufficiently homogeneous and which can be distinguished from neighbouring areas because the conditions (...)

According to the Commission’s Guidelines on the application of Article 81(3) of the Treaty: "The distinction between restrictions by object and restrictions by effect is important. Once it has been established that an agreement has as its object the restriction of competition, there is no need (...)

A compulsory licence is an authorisation given by a national authority (Minister, National Patent Office etc.) to a person for the use and exploitation of a patented product or process without the consent of the patent holder. Compulsory licensing is an exception to the main principle of patent (...)

According to the European Commission’s Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed pursuant to Article 23(2)(a) of Regulation No 1/2003, the basic amount of fines may be reduced where the Commission finds that mitigating circumstances exist, such as: where the undertaking concerned (...)

In order to carry out the duties assigned to it by Regulation 1/2003 of 16 December 2002 on the implementation of the rules on competition laid down in Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty, the Commission is empowered, for example, to: Send information requests to companies; In the context of an (...)

Under the Commission Consolidated Jurisdictional Notice under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings, sole control is defined as follow : "Sole control is acquired if one undertaking alone can exercise decisive influence on an undertaking. Two (...)

See Access to file

Pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 and Article 11 of Regulation (EC) 139/2004, in order to carry out the duties assigned to it by these Regulations, the Commission may, by simple request or by decision, require undertakings and associations of undertakings to provide all (...)

See Predatory pricing

Collective redress is a procedural mechanism which allows for reasons of procedural economy and/or efficiency of enforcement, many single claims (relating to the same case) to be bundled into a single court action. Bundling claims reduces the burden on claimants and therefore facilitates access (...)

Right of natural or legal persons who are parties to a Commission investigation to see the Commission’s file, whenever the Commission proposes to adopt a decision which would be unfavourable to those parties. Access is given in the course of the administrative procedure to all the documents of (...)

The notification requirement is laid down in Article 4(1) of the Merger Regulation, which states that a concentration with a Union dimension must be notified prior to its implementation. It is complemented by the standstill obligation in Article 7(1) of the Merger Regulation, which prevents (...)

"A concentration ceases to exist and the Merger Regulation ceases to be applicable if the undertakings concerned abandon the concentration. In this respect, the revised Merger Regulation 139/2004 introduced a new provision related to the closure of procedures concerning the control of (...)

Cross subsidisation means that an undertaking bears or allocates all or part of the costs of its activity in one geographical or product market to its activity in another geographical or product market. Under certain circumstances, cross subsidisation in the postal sector, where nearly all (...)

Phase II is an in-depth analysis of the merger’s effects on competition and requires more time. It is opened when the case cannot be resolved in Phase I, i.e. when the Commission has concerns that the transaction could restrict competition in the internal market. A phase II investigation (...)

After notification of the merger the Commission has 25 working days to analyse the deal during the phase I investigation. More than 90% of all cases are resolved in Phase I, generally without remedies. A phase I review may involve the following: (i) Requests for information from the merging (...)

A collective boycott occurs when a group of competitors agree to exclude an actual or potential competitor. This practice generally constitutes a restriction by object. © European Commission

An agent is a legal or physical person vested with the power to negotiate and/or conclude contracts on behalf of another person (the principal), either in the agent’s own name or in the name of the principal, for the: (i) purchase of goods or services by the principal, or (ii) sale of goods or (...)

Community jurisdiction in the field of merger control is defined by the application of the turnover-related criteria contained in Articles 1(2) and 1(3) of the Merger Regulation. When dealing with concentrations, the Commission and Member States do not have concurrent jurisdiction. Rather, the (...)

"In exclusive purchasing agreements, the reseller agrees to purchase the contract goods only from the other party and not from any other supplier. The supplier is entitled to supply other resellers in the same sales area and at the same level of distribution. Unlike an exclusive distributor, (...)

The ne bis in idem principle is laid down in Article 50 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union: "No one shall be liable to be tried or punished again in criminal proceedings for an offence for which he or she has already been finally acquitted or convicted within the Union (...)

Competition policy is about applying rules to make sure businesses and companies compete fairly with each other. This encourages enterprise and efficiency, creates a wider choice for consumers and helps reduce prices and improve quality. Low prices for all: the simplest way for a company to (...)

The concept of "effect on trade" is the ground of jurisdiction which determines whether the European Union (EU) competition rules apply. It is particularly important in the new system for applying the rules, which obliges national courts and competition authorities to apply the EU competition (...)

The action for annulment : The action for annulment is one of the actions which may be brought before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Through this action, the claimant requests the annulment of an act adopted by a European Union institution, body, office or organisation. The action (...)

"An undertaking which occupies a dominant position in the provision of an essential facility and itself uses that facility (i. e. a facility or infrastructure, without access to which competitors cannot provide services to their customers), and which refuses other companies access to that (...)

Association of firms or individuals formed to undertake a specific business project. Under the EU competition rules, joint ventures are undertakings which are jointly controlled by two or more other undertakings. In practice joint ventures encompass a broad range of operations, from merger-like (...)

Arrangement(s) between competing firms designed to limit or eliminate competition between them, with the objective of increasing prices and profits of the participating companies and without producing any objective countervailing benefits. In practice, this is generally done by fixing prices, (...)

Joint control exists where two or more undertakings or persons have the possibility of exercising decisive influence over another undertaking. Decisive influence in this sense normally means the power to block actions which determine the strategic commercial behaviour of an undertaking. Joint (...)

Intra-brand competition : Competition among distributors or retailers of the same branded product, be it on price or non-price terms. For example, a pair of Levi’s jeans may be sold at a lower price in a discount store as compared to a department store but often without the amenities in services (...)

General term for the assignment of property rights through, e.g., patents, copyrights or trademarks. These property rights give the holder the exclusive right to exploit the innovation. The holder thus has monopoly power on the use of the item, normally for a specified period of time and within (...)

Anti-competitive business practices (including improper exploitation of customers or exclusion of competitors) in which a dominant firm may engage in order to maintain or increase its position on the market. Competition Law prohibits such behaviour, as it damages true competition between firms, (...)

According to the Communication from the Commission on quantifying harm in actions for damages based on breaches of Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union : "Infringements of Article 101 or 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”), (...)

Barriers to entry are factors which prevent or hinder companies from entering a specific market. Entry barriers may result for instance from a particular market structure (e.g. sunk cost industry, brand loyalty of consumers to existing products) or the behaviour of incumbent firms. It is (...)

The Commission may by decision impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel an undertaking to stop an infringement of competition rules in accordance with an earlier decision. In such a case, a daily amount is fixed which has to be paid for every day the infringement continues after the (...)

For this term see definition in French.

Agreement or concerted Practice entered into between two or more undertakings each of which operates, for the purposes of the agreement, at a different level of the production or distribution chain, and relating to the conditions under which the parties may purchase, sell or resell certain (...)

Commercial practice of conditioning the sale of one product on the purchase of another product. If tying is not objectively justified by the nature of the products or their commercial usage, such practice may restrict competition. Economic theory suggests that a firm which enjoys market power (...)

Association, which collects payments made by users of intellectual property rights for the holders of such rights. For instance, a radio station, playing a record for which a record company holds a copyright, has to pay a fee to a collecting society, which then transfers the payments to the (...)

The combined annual turnover of the parties is used in the field of merger control as a criterion to divide competence between Member States and the Commission. concentrations where the parties’ combined turnover exceeds the thresholds set in Article 1 of the Merger Regulation are considered to (...)

Services of an economic nature, the provision of which can be considered to be in the general interest. For example: basic, publicly accessible supply of energy, telecommunication, postal services, transport, water and waste disposal services. The Member States are primarily responsible for (...)

Refers to restrictions of competition by agreements or business practices, which are seen by most jurisdictions as being particularly serious and normally do not produce any beneficial effects. They therefore almost always infringe competition law. Under EU law, the most prominent examples on (...)

Restrictions on the parties to an agreement (including an agreement to form a concentration), which do not constitute the primary object of the agreement, but are directly related to and necessary for the proper functioning of the objectives envisaged by agreement. In the field of co-operation (...)

A project-oriented, consensus-based, informal network of antitrust agencies from developed and developing countries. The ICN serves to share experiences and exchange views on competition issues deriving from an ever-increasing globalisation of the world economy, as well as to encourage the (...)

Practice by manufacturers or suppliers relating to the resale of their products and leading to a separation of markets or territories. Under absolute territorial protection, a single distributor obtains the rights from a manufacturer to market a product in a certain territory and other (...)

Agreements or concerted Practices between a supplier and a dealer with the object of directly or indirectly establishing a fixed or minimum price or price level to be observed by the dealer when reselling a product/service to his customers. A provision which foresees resale price maintenance (...)

A (deliberate) strategy, usually by a dominant firm, of driving competitors out of the market by setting prices below production costs. If the predator succeeds in driving existing competitors out of the market and in deterring future entry of new firms, he can subsequently raise prices and (...)

Co-ordination between undertakings which, without having reached the stage of concluding a formal agreement, have knowingly substituted practical co-operation for the risks of competition. A concerted practice can be constituted by direct or indirect contact between firms whose intention or (...)

Strength of a firm on a particular market. In basic economic terms, market power is the ability of firms to price above marginal cost and for this to be profitable. In competition analysis, market power is determined with the help of a structural analysis of the market, notably the calculation (...)

Ability of one or more buyers, based on their economic importance on the market in question, to obtain favourable purchasing terms from their suppliers. Buyer power is an important aspect in competition analysis, since powerful buyers may discipline the pricing policy of powerful sellers, thus (...)

Request by a natural or legal person who claims a legitimate interest asking the Commission to investigate an alleged infringement of EU competition law and to bring it to an end. Formal complaints oblige the Commission to act (either to find that there is an infringement or to reject the (...)

Measure for the relative size of a firm in an industry or market, in terms of the proportion of total output, sales or capacity it accounts for. In addition to profits, one of the frequently cited business objectives of firms is to increase market share. This is because market share, economies (...)

An amalgamation or joining of two or more firms into an existing firm or to form a new firm. A merger is a method by which firms can increase their size and expand into existing or new economic activities and markets. A variety of motives may exist for mergers: to increase economic efficiency, (...)

A market structure with few sellers, who realise their interdependence in taking strategic decisions, for instance, on price, output and quality. In an oligopoly, each firm is aware that its market behaviour will distinctly affect the other sellers and their market behaviour. As a result, each (...)

Under Article 101(1) TFEU agreements between undertakings which restrict competition and may affect trade between Member States are prohibited. According to Article 101(2) TFEU they are void unless they are exempted from the prohibition under certain conditions laid down in Article 101(3) TFEU. (...)

Formal information which firms provide to the Commission under EU merger law in certain situations. The Merger Regulation obliges undertakings to notify any concentration of Community dimension to the Commission on the basis of form CO, normally within one week of the conclusion of the (...)

This term covers both non-compete obligations and quantity forcing. A non-compete obligation is an obligation or incentive scheme in a supply or distribution agreement which causes the buyer not to manufacture, purchase, sell or resell products which compete with the contract products or to (...)

Conservatory measures imposed on firms by the Commission in relation to a competition case, in which a final decision on the substance has not been reached yet, in order to avoid that anti-competitive behaviour leads to irreversible damage before being sanctioned. Interim measures may be taken (...)

When the Commission decides to pursue a case, it will most likely adopt one of the following two types of decision. The first is formally to find an infringement pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 on the implementation of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty ("Regulation 1/2003"). (...)

Law, ministerial decree, decision or other administrative act adopted by a Member State. A Member State’s omission to act may also constitute a measure. The Commission may start infringement proceedings if state measures taken in relation to public undertakings and undertakings to which Member (...)

The definition of a relevant market is a tool to identify and define the boundaries of competition between firms. It allows to establish the framework within which competition policy principles are applied by the Commission. The main purpose of market definition is to identify in a systematic (...)

Particular form of co-ordination between firms which can adversely affect the outcome of any sale or purchasing process in which bids are submitted. For example, firms may agree their bids in advance, deciding which firm will be the lowest bidder. Alternatively, they may agree not to bid or to (...)

A legal or natural person appointed in merger cases to oversee the implementation of commitments and to contribute to their implementation where required. The trustee is appointed by the parties who have offered commitments the Commission with the Commission’s approval. His powers and duties are (...)

A special type of agreement whereby one undertaking (the franchisor) grants to the other (the franchisee), in exchange for direct or indirect financial consideration, the right to exploit a package of industrial or intellectual property rights (franchise) for the purposes of producing and/or (...)

Contractual clause bringing about a direct or indirect obligation causing the parties to an acquisition agreement, or at least one of them, not to manufacture, purchase, sell or resell independently goods or services which compete with the contract goods or services. Such an obligation on the (...)

General term for the total or partial reduction of fines applied to firms that co-operate with antitrust authorities in cartel investigations. The current leniency programme of the Commission is the 2006 Notice on immunity from fines and reduction of fines in cartel cases, as amended in 2015. © (...)

Trade in products which takes place outside the official distribution system set up by a particular firm. Through their own distribution system, firms may cause differences in prices for different countries, exploiting national differences in the behaviour of consumers. Parallel traders buy (...)

Communication from the Commission clarifying under what conditions the impact of an agreement or practice on competition within the common market can in its view be considered to be non-appreciable, namely where the aggregate market share of the undertakings involved remains below certain (...)

Distribution system, in which a company grants exclusive rights on its products or services to another company. The most common forms include single branding and/or exclusive territory rights, whereby a single distributor obtains the right to market a supplier’s product in a specific territory. (...)

Distribution system whereby a supplier enters into (vertical) agreements with a limited number of selected dealers in the same geographic area. Selective distribution agreements, on the one hand, restrict the number of authorised distributors. On the other hand, they prohibit sales to (...)

Side effects of an agreement or a merger between two or several firms which affect competition between them in another relevant market than the one covered by the agreement or the merger in question. Spill-over effects are referred to in Article 2(4) of the Merger Regulation, which concerns the (...)

An undertaking over which the public authorities directly or indirectly exercise dominant influence by virtue of their ownership, financial participation, or the rules which govern it. A dominant influence of public authorities is in particular presumed when they: a) hold the major part of the (...)

For the purpose of EU antitrust law, any entity engaged in an economic activity, that is an activity consisting in offering goods or services on a given market, regardless of its legal status and the way in which it is financed, is considered an undertaking. To qualify, no intention to earn (...)

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) such as patents and trademarks give the developer certain exclusive rights over the exploitation of his work, such as in production and commerce. However, within the EU, the exclusive right cannot be used to artificially split up the common market along (...)

Regulations, issued by the Commission or by the Council pursuant to Article 101(3) TFEU specifying the conditions under which certain types of agreements are exempted from the prohibition of restrictive agreements laid down in Article 101(1) TFEU. When an agreement fulfils the conditions set (...)

Term normally used to describe the exercise by a sovereign state of jurisdiction over foreigners in respect of acts done outside the borders of that state. One could say that - in a very broad sense - the EU applies its competition rules in an extra-territorial manner when it makes use of the (...)

Facility or infrastructure which is necessary for reaching customers and/or enabling competitors to carry on their business. A facility is essential if its duplication is impossible or extremely difficult due to physical, geographical, legal or economic constraints. Take for example a national (...)