The EU Commission fines the incumbent Lithuanian railway company €28 million for abuse of dominance (Baltic Rail)

On 2 October 2017 the European Commission adopted its decision in the Baltic Rail case [1] finding that the Lithuanian railways company, Lietuvos geležinkeliai ('LG') abused its dominant position. The extraordinary circumstances of the case prompted one commentator to wonder whether this is 'the most straightforward abuse case ever.' [2] According to the decision, when LG learned that a competitor rail operator from Latvia may start operating in Lithuania it hindered it by simply dismantling the 19 kilometres of the relevant track connecting the two countries (the 'Track'). The Commission imposed on LG a fine of approximately €28 million and ordered it to bring the infringement to an end. Following the decision LG made it public that it had decided to reconstruct the track. Its action