March 2003

Anticompetitive practices

 The UK’s Office of Fair Trading finds that a Spanish porcelain manufacturer has entered into selective distribution agreements with the aim of preventing national retailers from selling its figurines at discount prices (Lladró Comercial)
Addleshaw Goddard
13 contributions 7499 visits
Description of the impugned case The DGFT began an investigation under the Competition Act 1998, following complaints from three independent UK-based retailers, to determine whether selective distribution agreements concluded between Lladró Comercial, a manufacturer and supplier of porcelain (...)

The EU Commission approves partnership between British and Belgium airlines companies (British Airways / SN Brussels Airlines)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 6 contributions 2092 visits
"Commission approves partnership between British Airways and SN Brussels Airlines"* Procedure On 25 July 2002, British Airways (BA) and SN Brussels Airlines (SN) notified to the Commission a number of co-operation agreements requesting an exemption under Article 81 (3) of the Treaty. These (...)

The Japan Fair Trade Commission imposes surcharges on participants in bidding for civil engineering construction launched by Kagawa Prefecture and Takamatsu City (K.K. Daiou Kohmuten)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japan 126 contributions 22034 visits
FTC surcharged participants in bidding for civil engineering construction called by Kagawa Prefecture and Takamatsu City* As for bids called by Kagawa-Prefecture and Takamatsu-City, FTC sentenced to pay surcharge to 134 participants in tendering for civil engineering (CE) construction (...)

The Japan Fair Trade Commission imposes surcharges on participants in bidding for slope protection works (Raito Kogyo Co.)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japan 126 contributions 22034 visits
FTC surcharged participants in bidding for slope protection works alled by Kanagawa Prefecture and Kanagawa-Prefectural Business Agency (Kigyocho)* As for bids called by Kanagawa Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefectural Business Agency (Kigyocho), FTC sentenced to pay surcharge to 23 participants (...)

Unilateral Practices

 The French Competition Authority sanctions major oil companies for having entered into agreements on the market of fuel distribution on motorways (Total Fina Elf France)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 709 contributions 360814 visits
Fuel distribution on motorways : the Conseil de la concurrence hands down sanctions against the major oil companies.* In a decision dated 31st March, 2003, following a referral by the Minister of Economy, the Conseil de la concurrence handed down sanctions against the company Total Fina Elf (...)

The UK Competition Authority imposes a £6.8 million fine for abusive bundling and margin squeeze (Healthcare at Home / Genzyme)
Competition Appeal Tribunal (London)
7 contributions 11756 visits
In March 2003 the OFT decided that Genzyme had infringed the UK Competition Act’s Chapter II prohibition (the UK analogue of EC Article 82) by bundling its product with associated home care services, and by imposing a margin squeeze on competing firms . Based on the case law and the OFT’s (...)

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit finds that the dominant company has violated section 2 of the Sherman Act by using its bundled rebate program and certain exclusive dealing arrangements to maintain its monopoly in the transparent tape (LePage’s / 3M)
Morrison Foerster (Washington)
United States 2 contributions 749 visits
This article has been nominated for the 2013 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. LePage’s, Cascade Health Solutions, and a Bundle of Confusion* Discounts on bundled products are commonplace. Consumers value and often expect discounts when (...)

The Spanish Supreme Court confirms abuse of dominant position by the telecom incumbent consisting of a refusal to supply lines to 3C Communications (Teléfonos en Aeropuertos / Telefónica de España)
Baker McKenzie (Madrid)
Spain 32 contributions 24708 visits
Introduction On 6 March 2003, the Spanish Supreme Court (the Tribunal Supremo, TS) confirmed a judgement of the Spanish National Court (the Audiencia Nacional, AN) which upheld a decision of 1 February 1995 by the Spanish competition authority (the Tribunal de Defensa de la Competencia, TDC (...)

The EU General Court dismisses the action brought by a Spanish federation of healthcare technology companies against the Commission (Fenin)
General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
Luxembourg 58 contributions 26381 visits
The Court of First Instance dismisses the action brought by Fenin against the Commission* Where a body or organisation purchases goods for use in connection with an activity which is not economic in nature, it may not be regarded as an undertaking for the purposes of Community competition law (...)

Mergers

 The European Commission approves a merger in the food ingredients industry (Cargill/Degussa)
JG Associates (Brussels)
193 contributions 62302 visits
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European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 148 contributions 49090 visits
"Mergers — Main developments between 1 January and 30 April 2006"* On 21 October 2005, the Commission received a notification of Cargill‘s planned acquisition of sole control of Degussa‘s Food Ingredients branch (‘DFI‘). Both Cargill and DFI produce a number of food ingredients and hold a (...)

The Czech Competition Authority rejects an appeal concerning structural merger remedies in the energy sector, but deprives itself of the right to approve the buyer of divested assets if the future transfer is not itself subject to assessment under statute (ÈEZ / STE / VÈE / SÈE / ZÈE / SME / PRE / JME)
Prague City Hall
13 contributions 29576 visits
The operation The merger concerned constituted one of the phases in a wider framework of the government’s strategy to privatize state controlled stakes in the energy sector. The concerned transaction involved the transfer of shares directly owned by the state in eeight regional energy (...)

The Polish Competition Authority clears a merger in the municipal services sector subject to a divestment remedy (Rethmann Recycling/Lobbe)
Clifford Chance (Warsaw)
Poland 6 contributions 14872 visits
The operation On 6 March 2003 the President of the OCCP cleared the take-over of the Lobbe Group by Rethmann Recycling. In effect of the concentration Reithmann Recycling acquired all of the shares of the companies belonging to the Lobbe Group and expanded its commercial activity. (pages 2-3) (...)

State Aid

 The French Administrative Supreme Court refuses to classify as State aid the financial conditions of the obligation to purchase wind power electricity considering these are not granted through State ressources (UNIDEN)
Schmitt Avocats (Paris)
France 16 contributions 87188 visits
On the 10 February 2000, the French Parliament enacted an obligation to purchase electricity produced by installations of renewable energies not exceeding 12 megawatts while adopting the Law relating to the development and the modernization of the public service of the electricity. This Law (...)

The EU General Court issues its judgment in a case concerning transfer of capital to a German public law credit institution clarifying major policy issues concerning State aid rules (WestLB)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 6 contributions 7419 visits
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European Commission DG ENER (Brussels)
Belgium 7 contributions 2484 visits
"The judgement of the Court of First Instance concerning the transfer of capital to Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (WestLB)"* On 6 March 2003 the Court of First Instance (CFI) issued the long-awaited judgement in the WestLB case concerning the transfer of the Wohnungsbauförderungsanstalt (...)

French Administrative Courts repeatedly rules that Art. 87.1 EC does not have direct effect and tacitly considered that they do not have to raise by their own motion a potential breach of Art. 88.3 EC (14 cases)
University of Aix-Marseille
France 132 contributions 448038 visits
1. Introduction The present note is a comment on not less than fourteen Courts decisions in which the French administrative Courts repeatedly ruled that parties cannot, on the basis of former article 92 EC (now article 87 EC) alone, challenge the compatibility of an aid with the common market (...)

The EU Commission takes a partly negative decision concerning an export-promotion scheme and clarifies again that even low amounts of export subsidies are not compatible with the common market (Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 1 contribution 232 visits
"EU — rules on State aid do not allow for export aid"* On 5 March 2003 the Commission took a partly negative decision concerning an export-promotion scheme of the Landof Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and clarified again that even low amounts of export subsidies are not compatible with the Common (...)

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