The EU General Court maintains the Commission’s decision finding that a Lithuanian railway company abused its dominant position in the national rail freight sector (Lietuvos geležinkelai)

On 18 November 2020, the General Court (“GC”) issued its judgment confirming the European Commission’s (“Commission”) decision to fine Lithuanian Railways for the abuse of its dominant position on the Lithuanian rail freight market. The GC rejected all of the appellant’s complaints, but reduced the fine from € 27.87 million to € 20 million. A particularly noteworthy aspect of the GC’s decision is the insight it provides into when it may be appropriate to assess a dominant company’s behaviour in light of the case law on refusal to provide access to essential facilities (which sets a higher threshold for the