October 2003

General antitrust

 The OECD holds a roundtable on universal service obligations
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 308 contributions 1201331 visits
Key documents: Executive Summary with key findings, Detailled Summary of the discussion, Background note Executive summary, by the Secretariat In light of the written submissions, the background note and the oral discussion, the following points emerge: (1) Non-commercial service (...)

Anticompetitive practices

 The EU Council adopts energy tax directive taking into account State aid policy
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 3 contributions 1922 visits
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European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 8 contributions 3335 visits
"State aid: key elements for the agreement in the Council on energy taxation"* In October 2003, after six years of negotiation, the Council adopted the future energy tax directive. A key element for creating unanimity was the manner under which State aid policy has been taken into account in (...)

The EU Commission extends for 5 years the REIMS II exemption enhancing competition in the cross-border mail market through third-party access
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 1 contribution 460 visits
"The REIMS II exemption decision: enhancing competition in the cross-border mail market through third party access"* 1. Introduction On 23 October 2003, the European Commission adopted a decision in case COMP/C1/38170 REIMS II prolongingfor an additional five years the exemption of the REIMS (...)

The EU General Court rejects the application for annulment dismissing the argument that the reluctance of retailers to sell products of other ice-cream manufacturers could not be attributed to the exclusivity clause (Van den Bergh Foods/Commission)
European University Institute (Florence)
Italy 49 contributions 103773 visits
Twilight of the Idols* The Van den Bergh Foods case, aka the Ice Cream case, if often cited as one of the best Article 101 TFEU judgments ever handed down by the General Court. Many praise its modern, unformalistic approach of vertical ties. They like its focus on the economic magnitude of (...)

The Japan Fair Trade Commission renders its recommendations against participants in bidding for sewerage facility works (City of Kitakyushu)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japan 126 contributions 22051 visits
JFTC issues recommendation to participants in bidding for sewerege facility works ordered by the City of Kitakyushu* The JFTC, following an investigation into participants in bidding for sewerage facility works ordered by the City of Kitakyushu, hereby issues the following recommendation based (...)

The French Criminal Supreme Court upholds sentences inflicting prison, fines and damages for bid-rigging (Le Havre lighting)
Nest Avocats (Paris)
France 14 contributions 38912 visits
In France, criminal prosecutions against the authors of anti-competitive practices are generally undertaken against those having participated in a cartel between tenderors. Although bid-rigging are involved in the present case, it must be noted that it concerns as well market public as private (...)

The EU General Court confirms the Commission’s decision to fine an automobile company for restricting competition by conducting agreements with its dealers (Opel Netherlands)
General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
Luxembourg 58 contributions 26407 visits
The court of first instance essentially confirms the commission’s decision concerning the existence of an obstacle to free competition* The amount of the fine is reduced from EUR 43 million to EUR 35 475 000 Opel Nederland, which is the sole company for the sale, import, export and wholesale (...)

The Hungarian Competition Authority finds that resale price maintenance in agency agreements do not infringe competition law (Westel Mobil)
DLA Piper (Budapest)
Hungary 37 contributions 99340 visits
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DLA Piper (Budapest)
Hungary 35 contributions 74714 visits
Description of the impugned case The supplier (Westel Mobil, a mobile telecommunications service provider), concluded agreements on the marketing and sale of mobile telecommunications services and discounted cell phones with different dealers; the agreements contained RPM clauses. The HCO (...)

The Japan Fair Trade Commission imposes surcharges on participants in bidding for construction works (Ito Komuten)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japan 126 contributions 22051 visits
JFTC surcharged participants in bidding for construction works called by City of Chiba and Chiba City Urban Development Corporation* As for bids called by City of Chiba and Chiba City Urban Development Corporation (hereinafter “City of Chiba etc.”), the Japan Fair Trade Commission（hereinafter, (...)

The Japan Fair Trade Commission imposes surcharges on participants in bidding for Placing Road Traffic Signals (Nohara)
Japan Fair Trade Commission (Tokyo)
Japan 126 contributions 22051 visits
JFTC surcharged participants in bidding for Placing Road Traffic Signals etc． called by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department* As for bids called by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the JFTC ordered 57 participants in tendering for placing road traffic signals to pay surcharge in (...)

The Italian Competition Authority rules that exchanges of information through a third party between competing insurance companies is anti-competitive regardless of the non-concentrated nature of the market (Iama Consulting)
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 6 contributions 6960 visits
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Telefonica (Madrid)
Spain 2 contributions 918 visits
In 2004, two cases on exchanges of information between competitors were decided by the Italian competition authority (“AGCM” – the Autorità Garante per la Concorrenza ed il Mercato). This revived a lively debate on the conditions in which these practices should be prohibited and whether they are (...)

The European Commission holds that investigation into German insurance industry did not reveal sufficient threat of foreclosure through tied agents (BIPAR)
University of Oxford
United Kingdom 1 contribution 477 visits
"Complaint against German insurers withdrawn after Commission preliminary investigations did not reveal sufficient threat of foreclosure through tied agents"* Introduction On 6 October 2003, the European Federation of Insurance Intermediaries, BIPAR, withdrew its complaint against German (...)

The EU Commission announces the closure of an investigation into the supply relationship between a Russian gas producer and an Italian wholesaler (Gazprom / ENI)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 4 contributions 2333 visits
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European Anti-Fraud Office - OLAF (Brussels)
Belgium 8 contributions 4097 visits
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European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 4 contributions 2212 visits
"The territorial restrictions case in the gas sector: a state of play"* 1. Introduction On 6 October 2003, the Commission services announced the closure of their investigation into the supply relationship between Russian gas producer Gazprom and Italian wholesaler ENI. Just as other cases (...)

The EU Commission investigates gas supply contracts concluded by an Algerian state-owned gas company and its main European customers (Sonatrach)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 4 contributions 2333 visits
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European Anti-Fraud Office - OLAF (Brussels)
Belgium 8 contributions 4097 visits
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European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 4 contributions 2212 visits
"The territorial restrictions case in the gas sector: a state of play"* 1. Introduction On 6 October 2003, the Commission services announced the closure of their investigation into the supply relationship between Russian gas producer Gazprom and Italian wholesaler ENI. Just as other cases (...)

The EU General Court dismisses the appeal brought by steel undertakings in the "steel beams" cartel and confirms no infringement of the right to defence in the administrative procedure before the Commission (Thyssen Stahl / Corus)
General Court of the European Union (Luxembourg)
Luxembourg 58 contributions 26407 visits
THE COURT DISMISSES SIX OF THE EIGHT APPEALS BROUGHT BY STEEL UNDERTAKINGS AND THEIR TRADE ASSOCIATION EUROFER WHICH HAD BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF ENGAGING IN A CARTEL* The Court annuls two judgments of the Court of First Instance: that concerning ARBED SA in its entirety and that concerning (...)

The European Commission fines a cartel in the sorbates industry
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 4 contributions 1839 visits
"Commission adopts cartel decision imposing fines in sorbates cartel"* In a decision adopted on 1 October 2003, the European Commission found that Hoechst AG, Chisso Corporation, Daicel Chemical Industries Ltd, Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co Ltd and Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry Ltd (...)

Mergers

 The Slovak Antimonopoly Office cleared a merger in the sector of ultrasonic diameters and detectors with divestiture remedies (General Electric Company/Agfa)
Čechová & Partners (Bratislava)
Slovakia 12 contributions 18266 visits
The operation By a decision dated 23 10 2003, the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic approved the acquisition of the direct control of the undertaking General Electric Company over the undertaking Agfa NDT GmbH and its affiliated undertakings. Company General Electric is active in (...)

The European Commission refers to the Italian competition authorities the examination of the proposed acquisition of Italian tobacco company (Ente Tabacchi Italiani, British American Tobacco)
JG Associates (Brussels)
193 contributions 62321 visits
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European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 148 contributions 49112 visits
"Merger Control: Main developments between 1st September 2003 and 31st December 2003"* On 23 October 2003 the Commission decided to refer to the Italian competition authorities the examination of the proposed acquisition of Italian tobacco company Ente Tabacchi Italiani by British American (...)

The French Minister of Economy clears a merger in the rail fastening sector with remedies, including commitment to license IP, or, if no licensee is found, to let the IP rights fall into the public domain (Delachaux / Pandrol)
French Competition Authority (Paris)
France 82 contributions 283750 visits
The operation Through this transaction, Delachaux acquired the sole control of Pandrol. Both companies were active in the rail fastening sector. The market(s) The product market was the rail fastening devices. On this market, different technologies may be used, each technology being (...)

The Spanish Competition Authority clears a merger in the TV broadcasting sector subject to third party access to network infrastructure, but the remedies were subsequently modified by the Council of Ministries (Retevisión / Abertis Telecom)
RBB Economics (Madrid)
4 contributions 9039 visits
The operation The operation consisted of Abertis Telecom’s acquisition (through its wholly-owned subsidiary Tradia) of Retevisión. Abertis Telecom is the subsidiary of the infrastructure group Abertis Infraestructuras. Abertis Telecom operates in the telecommunications sector and holds 100% of (...)

The Danish Competition Authority approves a merger subject to remedies including a decrease in the duration of the merged entity’s agreements with distributing banks, the regulation of profit and some measures to increase transparency in the market (Nykredit / Totalkredit)
Kromann Reumert (Copenhagen)
Denmark 5 contributions 5801 visits
The operation Nykredit Holding A/S was primarily a mortgage lender. However, it also had a number of subsidiaries that provided services within a range of sectors: banking; the insurance business; and real estate broking. The annual turnover of Nykredit in 2002 was DKK 30.4 billion (para. (...)

The German Bundeskartellamt cleared a merger in the market for the production of quicklime subject to remedies, including the requirement to shut down three quicklime top loading production units (Rheinkalk / Kalkwerk Lengerich)
Baker McKenzie (Berlin)
Germany 34 contributions 82852 visits
The operation On 21 March 2003 the Bundeskartellamt was notified of the proposed acquisition of a not publicly disclosed percentage of the shares of Kalkwerke Lengerich GmbH (“Lengerich”) by Rheinkalk GmbH (“Rheinkalk”). Rheinkalk is a subsidiary of the Belgian Lhoist Group (“Lhoist”), which is (...)

The Lithuanian Competition Council cleared an acquisition in the market of distribution of strong alcoholic beverages with remedies, including divestiture and application of non-discriminatory pricing (Mineraliniai vandenys / Stumbras)
Amazon (Singapore)
Singapore 18 contributions 38507 visits
The operation By a decision dated 2 October 2003, the Lithuanian Competition Council authorized in phase II the acquisition by UAB Mineraliniai vandenys (« Mineraliniai vandenys ») of up to 100 % shares of AB Stumbras (« Stumbras »). The market(s) The relevant market has been defined by the (...)

The OECD holds a roundtable on merger remedies
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 308 contributions 1201331 visits
Key documents: Executive Summary with key findings, Detailled Summary of the discussion, Background note Executive summary, by the Secretariat Considering the discussion at the roundtable, the member country submissions, and the background paper, a number of key points emerge: (1) When (...)

State Aid

 The EU Commission launches formal investigation on measures in favour of non-profit harbours for recreational crafts in the Netherlands (Enkhuizen / Nijkerk / Wieringermee)
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 5 contributions 1560 visits
"State aid and the effect on trade criterion The Netherlands: measures in favour of non-profit harbours for recreational crafts"* Following a complaint, on 5 February 2003 the Commission initiated the formal investigation procedure down in Article 88 (2) of the EC Treaty on the possible (...)

Three French Courts acknowledged State’s liability towards aid recipients for not having granted un-notified State aid (Kélian / Fontanille / Salmon Arc-en-ciel)
University of Aix-Marseille
France 132 contributions 448072 visits
These two cases are in relation to the setting of the plan Borotra (Article 99 of Law n° 96-314 of 12 April 1996 implementing various economic and financial provisions) aimed at fighting the fall of employment in the textile, clothing, leather and footwear industries. The Law permitted the (...)

The French Administrative Court rejects claim for damages for failure to prove the alternative course of action that would have been adopted in the absence of State aid (Kélian)
Sheppard Mullin (Brussels)
Belgium 382 contributions 666284 visits
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European Commission (Brussels)
Belgium 28 contributions 44728 visits
Brief description of the facts and legal issues A law of 1996 enabled the French government to sign agreements with undertakings in the clothing, leather, shoe and textile sectors regarding a reduction in working time, in order to avoid redundancies. In return, the French government granted an (...)

The EU Parliament and Council adopt a Directive establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading addressing State aid aspects
European Commission - DG COMP (Brussels)
Belgium 8 contributions 3335 visits
"State aid aspects in the implementation of the Emission Trading Scheme"* 1. The Emission Trading Scheme The Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) plays a major role in the Commission’s Climate Change Policy. It aims at helping EU Member States to achieve compliance with their commitments under the (...)

Procedures

 The OECD holds a roundtable on cartel sanctions against individuals
OECD - Competition Division (Paris)
France 308 contributions 1201331 visits
Key documents: Executive Summary with key findings, Detailled Summary of the discussion, Background note Executive summary, by the Secretariat Considering the discussion at the roundtable, the member country submissions, and the background paper, a number of key points emerge: (1) As (...)

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