The EU Court of Justice AG Kokott supports setting aside the General Court’s ruling and overturning the prohibition order of a merger between telecoms (Telefónica UK / Hutchison 3G UK)

On 20 October 2022, Advocate General Kokott issued an opinion that the General Court (“GC”) had erred in its ruling in the C.K. Telecoms case by misstating the correct legal test to prohibit an oligopolistic merger and for engaging in an overly broad legal review of the Commission’s decision. AG Kokott’s opinion will inform the ECJ’s judgment, which will be the first time the highest Court has considered the applicable legal standard in the context of a merger in an oligopolistic market. In 2020, the