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).

Principle of proportionality

"(...) 580. It should be noted, first of all, that the principle of proportionality requires that measures adopted by EU institutions do not exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question; where there is a choice between several appropriate measures, recourse must be had to the least onerous, and the disadvantages caused must not be disproportionate to the aims pursued. It follows that fines must not be disproportionate to the aims pursued, that is to say, to compliance with the competition rules, and that the amount of the fine imposed on an undertaking for an infringement of competition law must be proportionate to the infringement, viewed as a whole, account being taken, in particular, of the gravity of the infringement (...)." © JUDGMENT OF THE GENERAL COURT (Fifth Chamber) 26 October 2017, Case Marine Harvest ASA v European Commission

Related EU and national case law

Alain Ronzano Proportionality: The General Court of the European Union confirms the absence of interest of the European Union in pursuing the examination of a complaint by a competitor of a roof window manufacturer, since the extent of the investigations necessary would be disproportionate to the limited likelihood of finding a breach of Article 102 TFEU (Fakro)

16 December 2020

On 16 December 2020, the Court of First Instance of the European Union delivered a judgment in Case T-515/18 (Fakro v Commission).. The applicant, Fakro sp. z o.o., is a Polish company which manufactures windows and roofing accessories. On 30 April 2007, the Commission opened an ex officio (...)

European Court of Justice The EU Court of Justice annuls a Commission decision allowing a TV company to preserve competition on the markets of pay-TV services (Paramount / Sky / Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

The Court of Justice annuls a Commission decision making binding the commitments offered by a company in order to preserve competition on the markets* The fact that it is possible, for the contracting partners of a company which has made commitments not to comply with certain contractual (...)

Lena Hornkohl The EU Court of Justice annuls the Commission decision that made commitments legally binding for companies in the pay-TV services sector (Paramount / Sky / Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

Canal+ (C-132/19 P): The Court of Justice Annuls Commitment Decision – The Importance of Third Party Contractual Rights* Today, the Court of Justice annulled the Commission decision that made commitments legally binding for Paramount. This decision is the first annulment of a commitment (...)

Alain Ronzano Commitments: The Court of Justice of the European Union says in the case of cross-border access to pay-TV that the General Court of the European Union failed to take appropriate account of the interests of third parties and infringed the principle of proportionality (Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

On 9 December 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union handed down its judgment in case C-132/19 (Canal+ Group v. Commission).. It will be remembered that on 12 December 2018, the Court of First Instance of the European Union delivered a judgment in case T-873/16 (Canal+ Group v. (...)

Maria-Olga Papadopoulou The EU Court of Justice annuls commission’s settlement decision for its failure to consider adverse effects on third party interests (Paramount / Sky / Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

On 9 December 2020, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) upheld Canal +’s appeal against the General Court’s (“GC”) judgment that had upheld the Commission’s commitments decision in the Paramount case, and annulled the GC’s judgment as well as the Commission decision (Case C-132/19 P). The ECJ, (...)

Paul Gilbert, François-Guillaume de Lichtervelde, Maurits Dolmans, Robbert Snelders, Wanjie Lin, Jeanne Lévy-Bruhl, Frédéric de Bure The EU Court of Justice annuls the Commission decision on a pay TV service company’s commitments for breaching the principle of proportionality (Paramount / Sky / Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

On December 9, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union granted Canal+’s application to annul the European Commission’s decision under Article 9 of Regulation No. 1/2003 to adopt commitments offered by Paramount (the “Commitments Decision”). The commitments prohibited Paramount from (...)

Stephen Wisking, Daniel Vowden, Daniel Barrio, Agathe Célarié The EU Court of Justice annuls a Commission’s decision accepting legally binding commitments offered by a company aimed at addressing an investigation into cross-border pay-TV in the EU (Paramount / Sky / Groupe Canal +)

9 December 2020

On 9 December 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) annulled a European Commission decision accepting legally binding commitments offered by Paramount aimed at addressing a Commission investigation into cross-border pay-TV in the EU (the “Paramount Commitment Decision”). The CJEU also set (...)

Jacquelyn MacLennan, Bram Vereecken, Aron Senoner EU Competition Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights: An overview of EU and national case law

3 December 2020

Fundamental rights are an integral element of the rule of the law, and any system which purports to respect the rule of law must be seen to respect the fundamental rights of the individuals subject to it. At this particular moment, with the COVID-19 pandemic, fundamental rights are an issue of special debate and concern.

Alain Ronzano Sanctions : The French Supreme Court is seized of a priority preliminary ruling on constitutionality concerning the conformity of Article L. 464-2, V, 2nd paragraph of the French Commercial Code (Akka)

26 October 2020

The Court of Cassation has just been seized of a new priority constitutionality question on the compliance of Article L. 464-2 of the French Commercial Code. This QPC relates more specifically to the provisions of the V, 2nd paragraph, of the said article, which allow the Competition (...)

Alain Ronzano Fines: The Paris Court of Appeal annuls a decision of the French Competition Authority in a case of anti-competitive price fixing in the sector of public procurement for the construction of public works in France, but imposes a fine of the same amount after verification of the contributive capacities (Ordre des architectes)

15 October 2020

On 15 October 2020, Chamber 5-7 of the Paris Court of Appeal delivered its judgment. in the matter of the scale of prices established by the Order of Architects for the construction of public works in France. It essentially confirms the decision no. 19-D-19 of 30 September 2019.1.5 million (...)

Denis Fosselard, Gabriele Accardo, Giulia Carnazza The EU Court of Justice rules that a restriction imposed by Italian law on acquisitions in the broadcasting and audiovisual sectors is contrary to EU Law (Vivendi / Mediaset)

3 September 2020

On 3 September 2020, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled that a restriction imposed by an Italian law on acquisitions in the broadcasting and audiovisual sectors is contrary to the fundamental EU law principle of the freedom of establishment enshrined in Article 49 of the Treaty on the (...)

Sabrina Borocci, Christian Di Mauro, Luigi Nascimbene, Claudio Pasina The EU Commission provides helpful guidance to national judges on the disclosure of confidential information in competition law private enforcement cases

20 July 2020

On 20 July 2020 the European Commission has adopted a non-binding Communication providing guidance to national judges on how to handle the disclosure of confidential information in proceedings for competition law private enforcement. The Communication, which contains a non-binding definition (...)

General Court of the European Union The EU General Court orders that the fine imposed on a semiconductor manufacturer for its participation in a cartel in the smart card chip market be reduced by almost €6 million, from €82,784,000 to €76,871,600 (Infineon Technologies)

8 July 2020

The General Court orders that the fine imposed on Infineon for its participation in a cartel in the smart card chip market be reduced by almost €6 million, from €82,784,000 to €76,871,600* The Commission took insufficient account of the limited number of the anticompetitive contacts which (...)

Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi Proportionnality: The General Court of the European Union, following a referral by the Court of Justice of the European Union, rules for the second time on the liability of one of the undertakings involved in the chipcard cartel and increases by 5% the reduction granted, in order to proportionately adjust the fine to the number and intensity of anticompetitive contacts (Infineon Technologies)

8 July 2020

With the ruling handed down on 8 July 2020, it is hoped that the litigation initiated by Infineon Technologies regarding its participation in the card chip cartel will finally be over. It will be remembered that four major companies in this sector had been condemned for a cartel in the form of (...)

Italian Competition Authority The Italian Competition Authority reports to Parliament and the Government on the Relaunch Decree related to COVID-19

7 July 2020

S3940 - ICA: report to Parliament and the Government on Relaunch Decree issues At the meeting held on the 1st July 2020, the Authority resolved, pursuant to article 21 of Italian Law no. 287/1990, to report certain provisions of Italian Decree Law no. 34 of 19 May 2020 on Urgent measures (...)

Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi Fine: The Paris Court of Appeal mostly confirms the fine amounts imposed by the French Competition Authority in the matter of hygiene and cleaning products (L’Oréal)

18 June 2020

It will be recalled that on 18 December 2014, the Competition Authority imposed heavy fines on the members of a cartel involving hygiene and cleaning products (Decision No. 14-D-19). L’Oréal was unable to take advantage of the leniency programme and was therefore fined the highest fine. It then (...)

Markus Wellinger, Francesco Pili The EU Court of Justice clarifies the conditions governing the legality of an injunction issued at the same time as a decision to open a formal State aid investigation (Hungary / Commission)

4 June 2020

On 4 June 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “Court of Justice”) delivered an important judgment clarifying the conditions under which the European Commission (the “Commission”) can issue an injunction on the basis of Article 11 of the former State aid procedural Regulation No (...)

Marie Cartapanis, Frédéric Marty Digital platforms: The European Commission launches two preliminary impact studies on the competitive and regulatory framework for electronic intermediation platforms

2 June 2020

The competitive treatment of digital platforms is the subject of much reflection not only in the economic literature but also in the sphere of public policy. For example, on 1 July 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed to the Government to implement a specific (...)

Wouter Wils Fundamental Procedural Rights and Effective Enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU in the European Competition Network

February 2020

This paper deals with the fundamental procedural rights of companies that are targeted in the enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU by the European Commission or the competition authorities of the EU Member States. The paper first provides a (non-exhaustive) list of such rights as applicable (...)

Alain Ronzano Commitments: Advocate General Pitruzzella calls on the Court of Justice of the European Union to uphold the appeal in the Cross-border access to pay-TV case on the grounds that the European Commission infringed the principle of proportionality by failing to take into account the interests of third parties (Canal+)

7 May 2020

On 7 May 2020, Advocate General Pitruzzella delivered his Opinion in Case C-132/19 (Canal+ Group v Commission).. It will be recalled that on 12 December 2018, the Court of First Instance of the European Union delivered a judgment in Case T-873/16 (Canal+ Group v Commission).in which it (...)

Alexandre Lacresse Commitments: The General Advocate Pitruzzella suggests to the Court of Justice of the European Union to rules that the European Commission shall take into account third parties’ rights when commitments rendered legally binding implies the termination of contracts involving third parties (Canal +)

7 May 2020

In this case, the applicant contests the Commission’s decision making binding commitments offered to it by a multinational producer of audiovisual content in order to meet competition concerns arising from contractual clauses guaranteeing it and a television broadcaster a licence of absolute (...)

Bruno Stromsky New aid: The Court of Justice of the European Union considers that a Member State may grant an aid subject to the condition that the beneficiary has repaid other aid declared unlawful and incompatible, despite the fact that the decision of the European Commission approving the new aid does not explicitly provide for such a requirement (Blumar)

6 May 2020

The granting of State aid which is not covered by an exemption regulation is subject to prior approval by the Commission. As part of its notification, the State may stipulate that the granting of such aid will be subject to certain conditions. It may also give undertakings to the Commission, in (...)

Jeremy Bernard The German Federal Supreme Court rules that the European Central Bank should have explicitly considered whether there was an appropriate balance between the monetary policy effects of the Public Sector Purchase Programme and the economic effects, and the ruling denies the primacy of EU law over the German Basic Law (Dr. W... a.e.)

5 May 2020

On 5 May 2020, the German Federal Constitutional Court sitting in Karlsruhe adopted its Dr. W... e.a. ruling by seven votes to one which results in a genuine declaration of war at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Dr. W… e.a. denies the primacy of EU law over the German Basic Law and (...)

Federico Marini Balestra, Lucia Antonazzi The Italian Supreme Administrative Court rejects an appeal lodged by a multinational drug company against a previous decision ascertaining it as having abused its dominant position by imposing unfair prices for drugs (Aspen)

13 March 2020

On 13 March, the Italian Supreme Administrative Court ("Consiglio di Stato") rejected the appeal lodged by the multinational Aspen Group against the decision of the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (“TAR”), which fully upheld the decision adopted by the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) (...)

Jeremy Martinez Freedom to undertake: The Constitutional Council considers that the e) of 1° of paragraph I, and certain provisions of paragraph III and paragraph IV of article L. 752-6 C. com. relating to the criteria on which the departmental commission of commercial development is based to deliver a preliminary administrative authorization, do not disregard the freedom to undertake (Conseil national des centres commerciaux)

12 March 2020

NB: This decision has been the subject of a "to be noted" in an issue 2020-2. In view of the interest of this decision, it seemed appropriate to devote a more important comment to it. The administrative authorizations prior to the exploitation of commercial and artisanal activities appeared (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Dawn raids: The French Civil Supreme Court specifies the regime of the conduct of the investigation in case of difficulty due to the seizure of data under legal privilege (provisional and closed seals ; form of the claims by numerical chart – global seizure – Judge’s refusal to move on the premises to control the investigations) (Renault)

4 March 2020

In the judgment discussed here, the Court of Cassation clarified and recalled a series of points concerning the regime of home visits. Although they were made in the context of visits and seizures for the purpose of seeking evidence of deception, the solutions are, in our view, transposable to (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Food supply chain: The French CEPC addresses certain provisions and practices between producers and first buyers, in the dairy sector, with the view to facilitate the optimization of the commercial opportunities for producers

27 February 2020

Following an initial CEPC opinion on a milk supply contract, previously commented on (see Circular Letter 12/2017, nos. obs.), the Commission once again examined this very specific type of contract, which is fairly symptomatic of the tensions that can exist between the players in the (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Franchise: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that a post-contractual non-compete clause applicable for one year within a radius of 150 kilometres around the previously operated point of sale is disproportionate (Educinvest / Sud-Ouest Campus)

13 December 2019

Rendered on referral after cassation (Cass. com., 28 Nov. 2018, n° 17-18.619), the judgment of the Paris Court of Appeal of 13 December 2019 had to rule, inter alia, on the validity of a post-contractual non-competition clause provided for by a franchisor in the education sector. Under two (...)

Francesco Martucci, Charlotte Ducrocq Electronic communications: The Court of Justice of the European Union specifies the concept of provision of an electronic communications network (TV Play Baltic)

11 December 2019

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified the concept of electronic communications network provision in a preliminary ruling on 11 December 2019. This decision is in line with the France Télévisions decision handed down one year earlier (CJEU, 13 Dec. 2018, France (...)

Aymeric Louvet Mandate management: The commercial division of the Court of Cassation confirms that the former article L 442-6-I 5e of the French commercial code applies to the management mandate, and invalidates, based on an assessment in concreto, the post-term non-compete clause (ACS Thiers diffusion / GIFI Mag)

20 November 2019

In line with a decision recently published in the Bulletin (Com., 2 Oct. 2019, Lettre distr. octobre 2019, obs. C. Mouly), the decision under comment applies to a contract for the management and agent (Com., art. L 146-1) of the GIFI network the legal provisions relating to the abrupt (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sanctions: The French Administration is increasingly condemning companies’ overdue payments (Colis privé, GEFCO, EDF, SFR)

18 November 2019

A fine of 1 500 000 euros has been imposed by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional directorate of companies, competition, consumption, labour and employment (DIRECCTE) on the company SAS Colis Privé for late payment of its suppliers’ invoices. A fine of 1 600 000 euros has been imposed by the (...)

Sebastien Martin Transports: The French Transport Regulatory Authority issues its first decision on airport charges (Airports of Nice-Côte d’Azur and Cannes-Mandelieu)

7 November 2019

Order No. 2019-761 of 24 July 2019 on the airport charges regulator has entrusted à̀ the Transport Regulatory Authority, as of 1 October 2019, with the competence to approve the tariffs of charges for services rendered mentioned in Article L. 6325-1 C. transp. and their modulations for aerodromes (...)

Stéphane Rodrigues Discretion in EU Public Procurement Law, Sanja BOGOJEVIC, Xavier GROUSSOT and Jörgen HETTNE (dir.)

November 2019

This section selects books on themes related to competition laws and economics. This compilation does not attempt to be exhaustive but rather a survey of themes important in the area. The survey usually covers publication over the last three months after publication of the latest issue of (...)

Fabien Tesson In-house exception: The Court of Justice of the European Union specifies the in-house exception (Kauno miesto savivaldybė)

3 October 2019

According to Article 12 of Directive 2014/24 of 26 February 2014 on the award of public contracts (OJ L 94, 28 March 2014, p. 65) on in-house situations, a ’public contract awarded by a contracting authority to a legal person governed by private or public law does not fall within the scope of (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden break: The French Supreme Court decides, for the first time, that Article L. 442-6, I, 5° of the French Commercial Code does not apply between an agent and a principal (IDF Management / Gifi)

2 October 2019

On 2 October 2019, the Court of Cassation handed down an important and noteworthy ruling (D. actu 17 October 2019, obs. X. Delpech; CCC 2019, No. 198, obs. N. Mathey; AJ Contrat 2019, p. 483, note N. Dissaux; adde F. Buy, De quelques conflits de lois internes en droit des affaires, D. 2019, p. (...)

Frédéric Buy Individual penalties: The European Court of Human Rights rules that a merging company can be sentenced to a civil fine while the unfair commercial practice has been committed by the absorbed company (Carrefour / France)

1 October 2019

Question: Can an acquiring company be ordered to pay a civil fine for an unfair commercial practice (in this case, the obtaining of manifestly disproportionate advantages by a large distributor) previously committed by the company it has absorbed? Yes, and three times yes! Yes, firstly, for (...)

Nathalie Jalabert-Doury Les inspections de concurrence des autorités françaises

2 May 2019

This book takes stock of all the legal and practical aspects of the French authorities’ competition inspections. It deals successively with heavy inspections (dawn raids with judicial authorisation under Article L. 450-4 of the Commercial Code), criminal competition searches (Article L. 450-1, (...)

Alain Ronzano Information: The General Court of the European Union confirms the Commission’s power to issue a new request for information to an undertaking after the statement of objections, provided that it is justified for the purposes of the investigation, necessary and proportionate (Qualcomm)

9 April 2019

On 9 April 2019, the General Court of the European Union delivered a judgment in case T-371/17 (Qualcomm and Qualcomm Europe v. European Commission).. Following a complaint by Icera Inc. on April 8, 2010, the European Commission opened an investigation against Qualcomm regarding an alleged (...)

Pascal Cardonnel Rights of defence: The General Court of the European Union dismisses an appeal against a decision of request for information coupling with a financial penalty (Qualcomm)

9 April 2019

In 2010, the Commission investigated a complaint about Qualcomm’s practices that were alleged to be an abuse of dominance. Nearly five years later, after several requests for information, the Commission informed the company of its grievances, which were based on a violation of Article 102 TFEU. (...)

Alain Ronzano Fine: The Court of Justice of the European Union rules that the principle ne bis in idem does not preclude a competition authority from imposing on an undertaking, in the context of the same decision, a fine for infringement of national competition law and a fine for abuse of dominance (Powszechny Zakład Ubezpieczeń na Życie / Prezes Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów)

3 April 2019

The Court of Justice of the European Union holds that the ne bis in idem principle does not preclude a competition authority from imposing on an undertaking, in a single decision, a fine for infringement of national competition law and a fine for infringement of Article 82 EC, provided that, (...)

Frédéric Buy Payment terms: The Marseille Administrative Court of Appeal inaugurates the administrative jurisdictional litigation of unfair commercial practices (Airbus Helicopters)

25 February 2019

The time has come for administrative judicial litigation in commercial relations. After the introduction, by the Hamon law of 17 March 2014, of the administrative fine penalty to sanction the violation of a whole series of provisions of Title IV of Book IV C. com. the administrative judge (...)

Frédéric Buy Business partnership: The French Supreme Court rules that Article L. 442-6 of the French Commercial Code does not apply to the relationship between a lawyer and his law firm (M. E. / Cabinet S.)

20 February 2019

By the time the reader reads these lines, the judgment under commentary will perhaps no longer be more than an illustration of the Byzantinisms on which article L. 442-6 C. com. has been based for too long. In this case, judges had rejected a lawyer’s claim for damages, directed against the law (...)

Silvia Pietrini Italy: The Italian Competition Authority cannot raise a preliminary question before the Constitutional Council (Council of notaries of Milan)

31 January 2019

By a decision of 31 January 2019, the Italian Constitutional Council declared inadmissible a question of constitutionality raised by the Italian Competition and Market Authority (hereinafter ’AGCM’) on the ground that the latter is deprived of any legitimate interest in raising a preliminary (...)

Emmanuel Guillaume, Roman Roussel Impartiality: The French Supreme Administrative Court rules that Article 42-7 of Law no. 86-1907 of September 30th, 1986, which ensures within the French Audiovisual Council an effective separation between the prosecuting and investigating functions on the one hand, and the judging one’s on the other hand, does not violate the principle of impartiality (Comité de défense des auditeurs de Radio Solidarité)

17 December 2018

The Act of No. 86-1067 of 30 December 1986 relating to freedom of communication gives the Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) the power to sanction publishers and distributors of audiovisual communication services who do not comply with the formal notices to comply with the obligations (...)

Jeremy Martinez Resale of tickets: The French Constitutional Court rules that Article 313-6-2 of the French Criminal Code limiting the activity of reselling access tickets to a sporting event is conform to the Constitution (Viagogo Entertainment)

14 December 2018

The applicant company is active in the resale of tickets for cultural, sporting and commercial events. In the general context of the organisation of the European Football Championship in 2016 (Euro 2016), Viagogo resold tickets without the authorisation of UEFA (Union of European Football (...)

Bruno Stromsky Necessity and proportionality: The General Court of the European Union partially annuls a no objection decision concerning an important project of common European interest (Scandlines Danmark Aps e.a.)

13 December 2018

Note: another judgment of the same day deals with the same case: Trib. EU, 13 Dec. 2018, Stena Line, case T-631/15, EU:T:2018:944 After having partially annulled on 19 September 2018 a decision not to raise any objections to aid to finance an important project of common European interest (...)

Michel Debroux Commitments: The General Court of the European Union dismisses the appeal brought by a broadcaster against a decision that rendered mandatory the commitments proposed by a right holder, and tries to strike a difficult balance between the commitment procedure and the contractual rights of third parties affected by such commitments (Canal+)

12 December 2018

What are the nature and scope of the effects of a Commission decision making commitments entered into by an undertaking pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 binding on third parties who are contractual partners of that undertaking but who are not covered by the Commission decision? It is (...)

Jacques Derenne Recovery: The General Court of the European Union annuls the obligation added by the European Commission to the recovery duty, prohibiting the Member State to pay the guaranteed amounts to the natural persons partners of the companies, not identified as beneficiaries themselves (ARCO)

7 December 2018

The ’ARCO’ case has multiple ramifications following a Commission decision of 3 July 2014 on State aid SA.33927 (guarantee scheme protecting the shareholdings of individual members of financial cooperatives - OJ 2014 L 284, p. 53 - ’2014 Decision’). This case has already been commented on several (...)

Jeremy Martinez Distribution contract: The French Constitutional Court rules that the interpretation by the French Supreme Court of point 2 § 1 of Article L. 442-6 of the French Commercial Code which prohibits significant imbalance between distributors and suppliers complies with the Constitution (Interdis)

30 November 2018

This decision must be given due attention. It was commented on twice in the previous issue of this review (C. Grimaldi, "Le contrôle du prix dans les contrats de distribution : Contrôle de l’évolution ou du niveau des prix ?", February 2019, Revue concurrences, n°1-2019, pp. 238-242 ; J-L. Fourgoux, (...)

Jean-Philippe Kovar Regulated prices: The French Competition Authority gives a favourable opinion on a draft decree regulating prices charged by pharmacies at airports (Pharmaceutical)

19 November 2018

Order No. 2018-3 of 3 January 2018 on the adaptation of the conditions for the creation, transfer, grouping and transfer of pharmacy dispensaries introduced special provisions for airports into the Public Health Code. This ordinance replaced the criterion of the annual number of passengers at (...)

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)