The EU Court of Justice rules on the interpretation of Article 101 TFEU and finds that undertakings cannot justify a restriction of competition relying on the claim that a competitor operates illegally on the relevant market (Ceskoslovenska obchodna banka / Slovenska sporitelna / VUB)

Vigilantes on the market: Can undertakings restrict competition to ‘help out’ public authorities?* In an interesting case decided today the CJEU held that a number of Slovak banks could not exclude a competitor even if that competitor was allegedly operating illegally on the Slovak market [1]. It’s a notable case, as it tells us something about how the CJEU assesses a situation where competitors are not playing by the rules of the game. The case concerned the three main banks in Slovakia that agreed to no longer do business with Akcenta as long as the other banks to the agreement did the same. Akcenta is a non-bank financial institution which provides financial services,