Commission, European

This Glossary matches the list of keywords used by Concurrences search engine. Each keyword is automatically updated by the most recent EU and national case laws from the e-Competitions Bulletin and Concurrences Review. The definitions are excerpt from DG COMP’s Glossary of terms used in EU competition policy (© European Union, 2002) and the OECD’s Glossary of industrial organisation economics and competition law (© OECD, 1993).

Spill-over effects

Side effects of an agreement or a merger between two or several firms which affect competition between them in another relevant market than the one covered by the agreement or the merger in question. Spill-over effects are referred to in Article 2(4) of the Merger Regulation, which concerns the creation of a joint venture that has as its object or effect the coordination of the competitive behaviour of undertakings that remain independent. In that case, the Commission shall appraise this coordination taking also into account whether two or more parent companies retain to a significant extent activities in a market which is downstream or upstream from that of the joint venture or in a neighbouring market closely related to this market. © European Commission

Related EU and national case law

French Competition Authority The French Competition Authority fines 12 manufacturers for cartel in the ham and cold meat sector (Charcuterie cartel)

16 July 2020

The Autorité hands out fines worth 93 million euros to a cartel in the ham and cold meats (charcuterie) sector* The manufactures involved (“cold meat manufacturers”) worked in concert in order to purchase cuts of ham from slaughterhouses at lower prices and/or were fixing the price increases for (...)

Michaël Cousin The French Competition Authority fines twelve undertakings for taking part in a double-sided cold meat cartel (Charcuterie cartel)

16 July 2020

The French Competition Authority ("FCA") has fined twelve undertakings involved in a cartel at multiple levels of the ham and cold meats sector. On 16 July 2020, the FCA issued a decision (n°20-D-09) imposing fines to 12 undertakings which were party to a cartel in the ham and cold meats sector (...)

Richard Burton, Victoria Ciudin The French Competition Authority imposes € 93 million fine on cartel in ham and cold meat sector (Charcuterie cartel)

16 July 2020

On 16 July 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a € 93 million fine on twelve ham and cold meats manufacturers (Cooperl Arc Atlantique, Les Mousquetaires, Fleury Michon, Coop, Savencia, Campofrio, Aubret, Sonical, La Financiere du Haut Pays, CA Animation, Nestle, Salaison du (...)

Danish Competition Authority The Danish Competition Authority makes its first merger referral to the EU Commission on the basis that it might affects markets in multiple other Member States (Mastercard / Nets)

3 April 2020

The European Commission to decide on the Master-card/Nets merger* The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority has referred the proposed merger between Mastercard and Nets to the European Commission. This is because the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority has come to the conclusion that (...)

Jiři Švejda The Czech Competition Authority authorises a merger between two companies operating in the residential and commercial property rentals (Heimstaden / Residomo)

12 February 2020

In a simplified procedure, the Office for the Protection of Competition authorised the merger of Heimstaden Bostad AB with RESIDOMO, s.r.o., RESIDOMO Services, s.r.o. and DomTherm, s.r.o. The Swedish group thus gains the opportunity to control the aforementioned companies exclusively. The (...)

Lisa Hamelmann, Mikael Treijner The EU Commission publishes draft guidelines intended to give national courts guidance in determining the extent to which overcharges based on infringements of Art. 101 and 102 of the TFEU have been passed on to indirect customers, including final consumers

31 July 2018

Following the European Directive 2014/104/EU on damages actions for breaches of EU antitrust law (“Damages Directive”), which strengthens the right to compensation for indirect customers of the cartelists, the European Commission (“Commission”) published draft guidelines intended to give national (...)

Albert Sánchez Graells Public procurement: An overview of EU and national case law

15 July 2015

The intersection of public procurement and competition law has been receiving increasing attention since I first wrote this foreword for the 2011 edition of this special issue of e-Competitions on public procurement . As discussed in the second edition of this foreword , the 2014 revision of (...)

Michelle S. Lowery The US District Court for the Northern District of California certifies class action lawsuit alleging price fixing in the market for cathode ray tubes clarifying that for class certification the plaintiffs need only show that common questions predominate over questions affecting only individual members (CRT)

24 September 2013

On September 24, 2013, the Northern District of California certified a class of indirect purchasers in In re Cathode Ray Tube Antitrust Litig., No. 3:07-cv-5944 SC, 2013 WL 5391159 (N.D. Cal. September 24, 2013). The case was brought by indirect purchasers of products containing cathode ray (...)

Stanislas Martin Full fonction JV - Spill over: The European Commission clears the creation of a JV in the auction services of cross-border interconnection capacities and deems the JV to be full-function and considers it would not lead to any significant spill-over effects as to the coordination of the competitive behaviour of the parent companies (CASC JV)

14 August 2008

EC Comm, 14 August 2008, CCAC JV, Case COMP/M. 5154 The operation consists in the creation of a full-function joint venture (JV) between eight European electricity distribution system operators (TSOs), including RTE, the operator of the French electricity transmission network. The main (...)

Alban Saget, Olivier Fréget The French Minister of Economy clears without conditions a merger in the press sector (Le Monde/ Hachette Fillipacchi)

6 October 2006

Minister of Economy, Finances and Industry, 6 October 2006, Letter to the Counsels of Le Monde editing society regarding a concentration in the edition sector (C2006-82) (“Lettre du Ministre de l’économie, des finances et de l’industrie du 6 octobre 2006, aux conseils de la société éditrice du (...)

Tomáš Rychlý The Czech Competition Authority clears a merger in the gas sector subject to behavioural remedies (RWE Gas / Transgas)

2 May 2002

The operation Based on the share purchase agreement between RWE and the Czech national fund dated 29 January 2002 RWE acquired controlling stake in Transgas and in 6 gas distribution companies. RWE is a German joint-stock company active in gas related activities such as transport, (...)

John Kemp The European Commission addresses the issue of spill over effects of a merger in a case concerning the creation of a joint venture in the broadcasting sector (Canal+/CDPQ/BankAmerica)

3 December 1998

"Mergers : Recent Developments and Important Decisions"* In Canal+/CDPQ/BankAmerica, the spill-over effects were found on a market upstream from the joint venture. The joint venture itself concerned pay-TV in France; but competition problems were found to result in the market for the (...)

Ilias Koimtzoglou, Leonidas Nikolouzos, Manos Mastromanolis, Stefanos Charaktiniotis The Greek Competition Authority clears a merger in the cosmetics sector with behavioural remedies related to the annual submission of a prices report of the best-selling cosmetics (Marinopoulos / Step-Hondos Center)

13 May 1998

The operation The Hellenic Competition Commission approved, by virtue of its decision 114/1998 dated 13 May, 1998, the establishment of the company “SPRING TIME COSMETICS S.A.”, a joint venture of the companies “MARINOPOULOS AVETTE” and “STEP HONDOS CENTER”. The market(s) The relevant markets have (...)

Glossary

A

Absolute territorial protection • Abuse of dominant position • Abuse of economic dependence • Access to essential facility • Access to information • Access to the file • Agency agreement • Agent • Agreement (notion) • Amicus curiae • Ancillary restraints • Annulment • Anticompetitive objet or effect • Anticompetitive practices • Applicable law • Arbitration

B

Barriers to entry • Bid rigging • Block exemption (Regulation) • Boycott • Brand competition • Burden of proof • Business secrets • Buyer power

C

Cartel • Clearance phase I (merger) • Clearance phase II (merger) • Collecting society • Collective dominance • Collective redress (class action) • Competence • Competition policy • Competition policy • Complaint • Compliance programme • Compulsory license • Concerted practices • Concession • Concurrent jurisdiction • Consumers protection • Consumers’ associations • Control (change) • Control (notion) • Cooperation Agreement • Cooperation between competition authorities • Coordinated effects • Copyright • Corporate group • Corruption • Cost-based access • Criminal sanctions • Cross subsidisation

D

Damages • Dawn raids • De minimis notice • Direct effect • Discriminatory practices • Distribution agreement • Dominance (notion)

E

ECHR • Economic analysis • Economic efficiency • Effect on trade between Member States • Effective judicial protection • Environmental protection • Essential facility • European Competition Network (ECN) • Excess prices • Exchanges of information • Exclusive distribution • Exclusive purchasing agreement • Exclusive right (Art. 106 TFEU) • Exclusivity clause • Exhaustion • Extra-territoriality

F

Failing firm defence • Fine • Fine mitigating • Foreign direct investment (FDI) • Franchising • FRAND

G

Geographic market • Group purchasing organization • Gun jumping

H

Hard core restrictions • Horizontal agreement

I

Individual exemption • Intellectual property right • Interim measures • International competition network (ICN) • Investigations / inquiries • Investigations/ inquiries

J

Joint control • Joint venture • Judicial review

L

Legal privilege • Leniency • Licensing • Limitation period • Low prices

M

Mandatary (distribution) • Margin squeeze • Market economy investor • Market power • Market share • Media pluralism • Merger (notion) • Merger (prohibition) • Merger (withdrawal) • Minority shareholdings

N

Ne bis in idem • Non-competition clause • Notification • Nullity

O

Oligopoly

P

Parallel imports (parallel trade) • Passing-on • Pay-for-delay • Periodic penalty payment • Personal data • Predatory pricing • Preliminary ruling (Art. 267 TFUE) • Price discrimination • Price-fixing agreement • Prices • Principle of effectiveness • Principle of equal treatment • Principle of equivalence • Principle of proportionality • Private enforcement • Privatization • Procedural autonomy • Professional association • Public procurement • Public undertaking

R

Referral (merger) • Refusal to deal • Regulated prices • Relevant market • Remedies (antitrust) • Request for information • Resale price maintenance (RPM) • Resale-below-cost • Right against self-incrimination • Rights of defence • Rule of reason

S

Sector inquiry • Selective distribution • Services of general economic interest • Single branding • Sole control • Spill-over effects • Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) • State action defense • State aid (compatibility) • State aid (existing aid) • State aid (notification) • State aid (notion) • State aid (recovery) • State aid (tax ruling) • State aid (unlawful aid) • State measure • Sudden break of established business relationships

T

Test SIEC (merger) • Test SLC (merger) • Transfer of technology • Transfer pricing • Trustee (mergers) • Turnover threshold (merger) • Tying or tied selling

U

Undertaking (notion) • Unfair competition • Universal service

V

Vertical agreement • Vertical restraints (or restrictions)