Pedro Callol

On 17 October 2022, the CNMC has formally initiated an antitrust investigation against Booking.com B.V. (Booking), a travel fare aggregator and metasearch engine for accommodation bookings, for possible anticompetitive practices prohibited under Articles 2 (abuse of dominant position) and 3 (...)

On 5 October 2022, the CNMC has initiated antitrust proceedings against Ecoembalajes España, S.A. (Ecoembes), a non-profit organization acting as manager of the Integrated Management System for plastic packaging in Spain. The investigation has taken place as a result of a complaint filed by PET (...)

One of the matters of most serious concern for companies in Spain refers to the possibility of excluding companies from public bids as an antitrust penalty. When adopting an antitrust decision which includes the prohibition to participate in public bids, the CNMC normally chooses to send the (...)

The CNMC fined the General Council of Associations of Dentists and Stomatologists (Ilustre Consejo General de Colegios Oficiales de Odontólogos y Estomatólogos in Spanish) (Dentists Professional Association) € 234,738 for an infringement of Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act consisting of an (...)

The General Court (GC) has issued its judgment on case T-227/21 between Illumina, Inc., and the European Commission. This much awaited decision adjudicated on the issue of whether or not Article 22 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004, on concentrations between undertakings (EUMR) empowers (...)

The CNMC has imposed fines totalling €203.6 million on Spain’s leading construction companies Acciona Construcción, S.A., Dragados, S.A., FCC Construcción, Ferrovial Construcción, Obrascón Huarte Lain, S.A. and Sacyr Construcción S.A. The fined companies rigged thousands of public tenders for (...)

The CJEU Judgement of 22 June 2022, Volvo and DAF Trucks, case C-267/20, has provided clarity regarding the temporal scope of the Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 (Damages Directive or Directive). The dispute in the main proceedings (...)

In 2016 the CNMC fined Prosegur for a single and continous infringement contrary to Articles 1 of the Spanish Competition Act and 101 TFEU. These companies allegedly shared the market, fixed prices and exchanged sensitive commercial information for seven years in the transport and handling of (...)

In the Bpost case, two national authorities fined Bpost €2.3 million for applying a rebate system that discriminated against some of Bpost’s clients ; second, the Belgian Competition Authority fined 37.4 million for abuse of dominant position because of the same rebate system. According to the (...)

The CNMC fines three steel companies €24 million for anti-competitive exchanges of information in the market for the purchase of scrap iron prohibited by Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act and Article 101 TFEU. The CNMC has fined two infringements involving, on the one hand, informaton (...)

Vienna Insurance Group AG Wiener Versicherung Gruppe (VIG) decided to acquire AEGON Group’s subsidiaries in Hungary. The acquisition was prohibited by Hungary on the grounds that it threatened Hungary’s legitimate interests and on the basis of its new emergency FDI screening legislation enacted (...)

The CNMC fined Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A., S.M.E. (Correos), the national postal service company, €32.6 million for the application of an anti-competitive system of discounts to large customers prohibited by Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Act and Article 102 TFEU (Decision (...)

In May 2009, the EC levied a fine on Intel of €1.06 billion for breaching Article 102 TFEU. The abuse of dominant position happened when Intel granted discounts to CPU makers on condition that they bought all of the x86 processors from Intel. Furthermore, Intel had also made payments at (...)

The EC has published the final report concerning the sector inquiry on Internet of Things (IoT) launched in July 2020. Some of the relevant competition issues identified are as follows : (i) Interoperability : the main providers of voice assistants (i.e., Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri or Google’s (...)

The Judgment has found the RFEF liable for abusive conduct contrary to Articles 102 TFEU and 2 of the Spanish Competition Act. The Court further ordered the RFEF to pay compensation for damages. By way of background, Mediapro had filed a lawsuit before the Court against RFEF arguing a breach (...)

The High Court, by Judgement of 27 December 2021 upheld the appeal filed by JEZ Sistemas Ferroviarios, S.L. (JEZ) against the Decision of the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) of 30 June 2016, INFRAESTRUCTURAS FERROVIARIAS, file S/0519/14 (CNMC Decision). The CNMC Decision (...)

The CNMC has ended proceedings for breach of Article 101 TFEU and 1 LDC against EURO 6000 on 2 November. The proceedings were opened on February 2020 because of the concern that EURO 6000 (comprising several banks) may have denied ING access to its ATM network, in contrast to the access granted (...)

On June 2020, the provincial court of León (Court) requested a preliminary ruling to the CJEU on the interpretation of certain provisions regarding the temporal scope of Directive 2014/104/EU of 26 November 2014 (Damages Directive). The request arose in the framework of a dispute in which a (...)

The Judgment of the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) of 6 October 2021, Sumal, case C-882/19, addresses a request for a preliminary ruling from the provincial court of Barcelona in late 2019. The court is addressing the appeal brought by Sumal after the first instance court had dismissed (...)

The CNMC has fined a total of €127.3 million on Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Cobra, Nokia, Siemens and Thales, and ten of their executives for their participation in a cartel prohibited by Articles 1 LDC and 101 TFEU. Specifically, the companies created a cartel that fraudulently rigged at least 82 (...)

This investigation was conducted against the Spanish subsidiaries of 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Rentrak, Sony, Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers and Ymagis, S.A., in connection with uniform conditions applied in the digitization of movie distribution as well as sharing of commercially (...)

The Judgment of the Supreme Court (the Judgment) addressed an appeal brought by the CNMC against an Order of the High Court provisionally staying the sanctions in Decision of 20 June 2019, Transporte Escolar Murcia, file SAMUR/02/2018. The importance of the Judgment lies on the nature of the (...)

The Judgment of the US Court of the Northern District of California (Court) of 10 September 2021 , Epic v. Apple (Judgment), has concluded that Apple Inc. (Apple) is not a monopolist in light of current US and California antitrust laws. However, what could be seen as a neat victory for Apple is (...)

The cartel operated through meetings where the cartel members periodically coordinated the bids to be submitted in the tenders issued by the government for road maintenance services of the State Road Network. The cartel allocated a “pool” of points to each group of tenders, used as reference by (...)

The CNMC approved on 27 July 2021 (with confirmation in August from the Government, which has the statutory power to alter conditional or negative merger decisions), in second phase with commitments, the merger between Mooring & Port Services, S.L. (Mooring) and Cemesa Amarres Barcelona, (...)

Albia Gestión de Servicios, S.L.U. (Albia) failed to comply with the obligation to notify and get clearance from the CNMC prior to the acquisition of the funeral home Tanatorios Móstoles, S.L. before implementing the merger in 2019. Like most gun jumping cases prosecuted in Spain, the (...)

The EC has published on 9 July 2021 the awaited draft proposal for a revised VBER and its Guidelines. The current rules expire on 31 May 2022. The draft rules highlight the importance of the digital economy, where e-platforms and ecommerce play a central role. In particular : Online sales (...)

The European Commission publishes a draft revised Vertical block exemption Regulation (VBER) and Guidelines. The EC has published on 9 July 2021 the awaited draft proposal for a revised VBER and its Guidelines. The current rules expire on 31 May 2022. The draft rules highlight the importance of (...)

The EC has found that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche) breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning. Car manufacturers had technical meetings to discuss the development of the selective catalytic (...)

On 1 July 2021, the CNMC announced an investigation against Apple and Amazon for possible restrictive practices in the Internet sales of electronic products and the provision of marketing services to third-party retailers through online platforms in Spain. The conduct under investigation (...)

By Decision of 26 February 2015, INDUSTRIAS LACTEAS, file S/0425/12, the CNMC declared the existence of a cartel in the dairy industry, sanctioning several dairy companies for having reached agreements on purchase prices and distribution of supply sources, allowing the companies total control (...)

The European Commission has re-adopted a cartel decision against ICAP for having breached EU antitrust rules by facilitating several cartels in the area of the Yen Interest Rate Derivatives (YIRD) trading market. YIRDs are financial products, used by banks to manage the risk of interest rate (...)

Twelve European football clubs signed on 17 April 2021 a framework agreement to form the European Super League (ESL). The ESL was announced as a major European football tournament in competition with the current UEFA Champions League. According to the Real Madrid president and one of the main (...)

In its merger Decision of 11 May 2021, SOFISPORT/ GRUPO MAXAM, file C/1770/21, the CNMC has authorized the acquisition of control by Sofisport S.A. of the hunting and sport shooting cartridges business and certain related assets of Maxam Holding, S.L. The CNMC considered the disappearance of (...)

Royal Decree-Law 7/2021, of 27 April, has implemented into Spanish law EU Directive 2019/1 of 11 December 2018 empowering the competition authorities of Member States (OJ L11/3, 14.1.2019) (ECN+ Directive). The reform approved is less ambitious than anticipated by the preparatory works. No (...)

Royal Decree-Law 34/2020, of 17 November, on urgent measures supporting business solvency and others (RDL 34/2020), has been published today introducing (i) a new amendment to the foreign direct investment (FDI) screening regime applicable to critical infrastructures, supplies, technologies and (...)

In the framework of a larger urgent legislative package to ease the effects of the Covid-19 crisis in the economy in the spring of 2020, the Spanish Government put in place a new foreign direct investment (FDI) screening system applicable to non-EU/non-EFTA companies. This screening system (...)

According to the recently published press release, after a fourteen-month investigation, the CNMC has cleared in phase II the acquisition of Cemex’ white cement divisions by Çimsa subject to conditions. The CNMC initiated a phase II in-depth review due to potential competition problems in the (...)

Review of VBER . The European Commission (EC) recently published its Staff Working Document containing its findings on the evaluation the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and its Guidelines. The VBER, which provides a safe harbor for contractual restraints (for instance between (...)

Last 31 July 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation made public the draft regulation modifying Law 15/2007, of 3 July, on the Defense of Competition (Draft Regulation). The Draft Regulation, other than implementing the main features of the ECN+ Directive into Spanish (...)

The European Commission has adopted a communication on the protection of confidential information by national courts in proceedings for the private enforcement of EU competition law (Communication). The adoption follows a public consultation launched by the Commission last year inviting (...)

The CJEU ruled on the European Commission’s powers of inspections in cartel proceedings, in particular, regarding the power to copy data without a prior examination. On 2009, the Commission’s inspectors, accompanied by representatives of the French competition authority, visited the premises of (...)

By decision of 3 September 2014, the Commission established the existence of a cartel in the smart card chip sector in the EEA from 2003 to 2005. Within said cartel, several undertakings, namely Infineon, Philips, Samsung and Renesas, had coordinated their pricing policy through a network of (...)

The CNMC has published the “Guide on treatment of confidential information and personal data in antitrust proceedings under Law 15/2007” (Guide), aimed at providing guidance to companies and other interested parties when they request confidentiality of information or documents provided by them in (...)

The National Competition and Markets Commission (CNMC) has published a guide on competition law compliance programs (Guide). The Guide draws on two legal developments : (i) the prohibition of contracting with public administrations in the case of companies found guilty of infringing the (...)

In 2016, the CNMC fined €128.8 million on seven manufacturers, a business association (the Spanish Federation of Healthcare Technology Companies (FENIN)) and four individuals for setting up a price-fixing cartel of adult diapers sold in pharmacies (Decision of 26 May 2016, AIO, file S/DC/0504/14 (...)

On 8 May 2020, the CNMC has authorized in phase 1 the acquisition by Barceló Corporación Empresarial (Barceló) of exclusive control of assets belonging to Globalia Corporación Empresarial (Globalia), essentially, its wholesale and retail travel agency and occasional road passenger transportation (...)

On April 2020, the CJEU rendered its ruling in Budapest Bank on a request for a preliminary ruling from Hungary’s highest court. The CJEU provides clear guidance on the concept of restriction of competition by object and its practical application by courts and national competition authorities. (...)

The rapid spread of Covid-19 has led to its consideration as a global pandemic. Spain, currently at the epicenter of the crisis, has declared the state of alarm last Sunday. To ease the effects of the Covid-19 crisis in the economy, the Spanish Government approved yesterday Royal Decree-Law (...)

The Supreme Court Order focuses on the guarantees that must govern the CNMC’s inspection activities in the exercise of its powers and, in particular, in relation to legal assistance for companies subject to inspection. In particular, the appeal is brought by Prysmian Spain, S.A (Prysmian) (...)

On 14 December 2012, Marine Harvest entered into a share purchase agreement under which it acquired a 48.5% stake in one of its competitors, Morpol. The transaction, which was not notified to the Commission, was completed on 18 December 2012. In 2013, Marine Harvest made a mandatory public (...)

Following dawn raids in November 2019, the CNMC has opened proceedings against seven firms (CDC Franquiciadora Inmobiliaria, S.A. ; Look & Find primera red inmobliaria, S.A. ; Aplicaciones Inmovilla, S.L. ; Idealista, S.A. ; Witei Solutions, S.L. ; Anaconda Services and Real Estate (...)

The appealed Decision stated that the Spanish Association for Refrigerated Transportation (ATFRIE, in its Spanish acronyms), a business association of the main national companies involved in refrigerated transportation, had met to fix prices in the sector of refrigerated transport. The meetings (...)

The CNMC has reached a commitments decision with Adidas regarding restrictive practices in the Spanish retail market for clothing and footwear contrary to Article 1 SCA. Adidas submitted commitments addressing the CNMC’s concerns regarding certain clauses in the retail sports clothing company’s (...)

The Supreme Court’s judgments quash the decisions against two employees of FENIN (the Spanish Federation of Health Technology Companies) in the CNMC’ Decision of 26 May 2016, AIO, S/DC/0504/14), which fined €128.8 million on eight manufactures, their association FENIN and four individuals, for (...)

On 6 September 2019, the CNMC has initiated proceedings against NUFRI for having closed the acquisition of Grupo IDULLEIDA before gaining merger clearance. On 11 July 2019, the CNMC cleared in first phase the transaction which had been notified on 21 June 2019. However, the CNMC has initiated (...)

On 12 July 2019, the CNMC found that the main milk producers had entered into anticompetitive information exchanges (at the national and regional level) on raw cow milk purchase prices and volumes purchased from farmers and milk suppliers. Altogether, the fines amount to €80.6 million. The said (...)

1. EU Regulation 2019/452 on a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments. Earlier this year, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of 19 March (Regulation), establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments (FDI) into the EU. The Regulation, dealing (...)

The European Commission has issued guidelines for national courts on how to estimate the passing-on of overcharges to indirect purchasers of goods and services affected by infringements of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. The guidelines have been issued pursuant to Article 16 of the Antitrust Damages (...)

SPAIN FOLLOWS UP ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REGULATION ON COORDINATION OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT WITH ITS OWN FOREIGN INVESTEMENT SCREENING REGULATION* 1. EU Regulation 2019/452 on a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments. Earlier this year, the EU adopted Regulation (EU) (...)

Under the constitutionally decentralized administrative law system in Spain, some Spanish regions have assumed competition enforcement powers regarding conduct which scope is limited to their respective territories. The Catalan Competition Authority (ACCO) has declared that the Association of (...)

On 12 August 2016 Canon notified the European Commission (EC) the acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (TMSC), a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba. The EC authorized the transaction on 19 September 2016. The acquisition was structured with a view to dodging the associated merger (...)

The European Commission has announced that it has opened an investigation against Broadcom in connection with various practices such as between Broadcom products and other products. The case follows precedents in the microchips market, particularly echoing the investigation against Intel which (...)

The NMCC has fined Endesa Energía XXI €5.5 million, for using the electricity bills as a tool to promote services of other group companies. In the past, the electricity market in Spain was fully regulated, and all prices were set by the Government. However, in the late 90s the sector was (...)

The CNMC has requested a preliminary ruling from the CJEU on the legality of the proposed stevedoring framework agreement, within the context of the ongoing investigation launched by the said Authority in November 2017 (file S/DC/0619/17, Acuerdo Marco de la Estiba). The move is remarkable, (...)

The NMCC has declared that the association ANELE and all the publishers under investigation have breached Article 1 SCA and Article 101 TFEU, in relation to (i) the adoption and implementation of ANELE’S Code of Conduct (CoC), which restricted promotional activities ; and (ii) digital books, due (...)

The NMCC has fined the Spanish Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SGAE) €2.95 million for abusing its dominant position in the management and exploitation of intellectual property rights of authors and publishers of musical and audiovisual works (Articles 2 SCA and 102 TFEU). The (...)

In 2015, the NMCC imposed two fines on Repsol S.A. (Repsol), the parent company of the energy group, amounting to €20 and €22.5 million for coordinating prices through exchanges of information with competitors and for fixing of fuel prices at service stations, respectively. Repsol appealed the (...)

The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has fined Spain’s main tobacco manufacturers, Philip Morris, Altadis, JT International Iberia, as well as wholesaler Logista for an anticompetitive exchange of strategic information. Logista facilitated immediate access to its daily (...)

The Supreme Court has upheld the appeal lodged by UdER (Unión de Recuperación) against the Judgment of the High Court of 15 December 2017 (appeal number 15/2015), declaring the NMCC’s Decision of 6 November 2014, Recogida de Papel, file S/0430/12 (Decision) null and void. In the said Decision, (...)

“Shaping Competition Policy in the era of digitization” : The European Commission hosts a conference with academic and business leaders to address the challenges of digitization for competition policy. On 17 January 2019, the European Commission hosted an experts conference to address the (...)

Update on damages claims in Spain - paper envelope cartel damages recovery. Several rulings have been issued by Spanish lower courts shedding light on key aspects of antitrust damages claims, such as the treatment of evidence concerning the calculation of compensation for damages. Also the (...)

On 7 May 2018, the NMCC imposed fines amounting to €7.12 million upon five companies : Carat España, S.A.U, Inteligencia y Media, S.A. (YMEDIA), Media By Design Spain, S.A. (MEDIA BY DESIGN), Media Sapiens Spain, S.L. and Persuadé Comunicación, S.A. and three of their managers or legal (...)

On 24 April 2018, the European Commission (EC) fined Altice €124.5 million (the highest fine imposed in Europe for gun-jumping) for the acquisition of PT Portugal without having notified the operation to the EC and obtained the mandatory clearance. In February 2015, Altice notified to the EC (...)

On 26 February 2013, Hewlett Packard and Hewlett Packard Española, S.L. (jointly, HP) filed a complaint against Oracle Corporation and Oracle Ibérica, S.R.L. (jointly, Oracle) before the NMCC denouncing restrictive practices of competition in the field of relational database management systems, (...)

On 8 March 2018, the NMCC fined ten courier and parcel companies a total of €68 million for participating in a customer-allocation cartel, in breach of Articles 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA) and 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Some of the companies (...)

The CNMC has just issued its Decision on financial derivatives (Decision), fining the accused banks (Santander, Sabadell, Caixa, BBVA) €91 million. The Decision refers, in particular, to the derivative products ancillary to syndicated loans, which goal is to insure borrowers against (...)

In 2014, UNIPOST, S.A. (Unipost) filed a complaint before the NMCC against Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telegrafos, S.A., (Correos) denouncing that Correos was able to offer discounts to large customers, well above the discounts offered by Unipost and other competitors for similar services, (...)

The NMCC has approved, subject to commitments, the merger of the three card payment service companies operating in Spain : Servired, Sistema 4B and Euro 6000, of which practically all banking entities present in Spain were shareholders. As a result of the operation, the Spanish card payment (...)

The Private Railway Companies Association (representing most of Renfe’s competitors) filed a complaint against Renfe before the NMCC denouncing the situation created by Renfe after calls for tenders in 2015 and 2016. The NMCC has adopted a Resolution in which it orders Renfe to comply with a (...)

In 2014, Elite Taxi brought an action before the Commercial Court No 3 of Barcelona seeking a declaration from that court stating that Uber was infringing transport regulation in force and the Spanish Unfair Competition Act. Central to the discussion was whether or not Uber requires prior (...)

In its Judgment of 20 December 2017, the ECJ has ruled that Schweppes Spain may not oppose the import of bottles of tonic water under the trademark “Schweppes” imported from the UK. By way of background, Schweppes International or Schweppes Holding (Orangina Schweppes) is the proprietor of the (...)

The case concern a series of measures implemented by the Spanish authorities in relation to the switch-over from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting throughout Spain. The Spanish authorities divided the Spanish territory into three separate areas : “Area I”, “Area II” and “Area III”. (...)

Coty Germany sells luxury cosmetic goods in Germany through a selective distribution network Under Coty Germany’s selective distribution system, shops of authorised distributors must comply with a number of requirements (setting, decoration and furnishing). Authorised distributors can sell the (...)

In its Judgment of 23 November 2017, the ECJ analysed the implications of the Commission commitments procedure (Article 9 of Council Regulation 1/2003) when it comes to the adjudication by national courts on the same facts. The commitments procedure is a mechanism whereby the European (...)

On 21 November 2017, the National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) imposed fines totalling €44.7 million on eleven undertakings and one trade association (the Spanish Association of Cable Manufacturers (FACEL) for their involvement in a cartel related to the supply of low and medium (...)

The NMCC has fined the National Association of Purebred Spanish Horse Breeders (ANCCE) € 187,677 for abusing its dominant position in the markets of contest regulations and lineage management for purebred Spanish horses. ANCCE is an association of purebred Spanish horses’ breeders, whose purpose (...)

On 23 July 2013, the NMCC found France Telecom España, S.A.U. (Orange) guilty for having failed to notify for merger control the acquisition of the exclusive control of KPN Spain, S.L.U. (SIMYO). Spanish law states that concentrations that meet either one of the (turnover and market share) (...)

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) published its judgement in a highly expected case, largely due to the huge administrative fine of € 1,060 million set by the EC in 2009, but mostly because of its relevance in a very important area of commerce : the legal treatment of discounts by dominant (...)

The High Court has upheld the appeal filed by Repsol S.A. (Repsol or Parent Company) against the decision of the NMCC declaring the Parent Company guilty of conduct carried out by its subsidiary Repsol Comercial de Productos Petrolíferos, S.A. (Subsidiary) (Decision of 2 July 2015, file S/484/13 (...)

On 13 July 2017, the NMCC closed the Article 102 TFEU and Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Act (Competition Act) proceedings related to the supply of pharmaceutical marketing data to IMS Health (IMS) by means of a commitments decision. The NMCC initiated the investigation, as a result of (...)

The NMCC initiated an investigation on possible anti-competitive practices in the manufacturing and distribution of medical gases, consisting of market sharing, price fixing and the exchange of confidential information. The NMCC carried out dawn raids at Abelló Linde, S.A., Air Liquide (...)

The NMCC has closed with commitments an investigation against Schweppes, S.A. related to restrictions of parallel trade. The Coca-Cola group and Orangina Schweppes Holding B.V. (OSHBV) share the ownership of the Schweppes trademark in the EU. Coca-Cola owns the Schweppes trademark in the UK (...)

The NMCC has fined €1.74 million on Nokia Solutions and Networks Spain, S.L. (Nokia). The NMCC considered that Nokia abused its dominant position by engaging in margin squeeze practices when the State owned railway manager Administrador de Infraestructuras Ferroviarias (ADIF) tendered the (...)

On 7 June 2016, the National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has published a notice (Notice) providing information on the procedure followed by NMCC when carrying out dawn raids. The NMCC’s note contemplates the main milestones of an inspection (i.e., legal authorization and (...)

The government has issued an urgent Royal Decree-Law 9/2017 of 26 May (RDL) implementing Directive 2014/104/UE, of the European Parliament and the Council, of 26 November 2014 (Directive) into Spanish law. A Royal Decree-law is an instrument used by the government to legislate on matters that (...)

The NMCC has ordered Telefonica to compensate its competitors Vodafone, Telecable and Total Channel for the excessive wholesale prices paid for football channels Canal+ Liga and Canal+ Partidazo in the season 2015/2016. This order is in the context of monitoring proceedings of the merger (...)

On April 11th, the NMCC has condemned the Spanish Basketball Clubs Association (Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto or ACB) for breaching the national provision on restrictive practices, Article 1 Competition Act. The ACB has been fined €400,000. According to the NMCC, the ACB forced excessive, (...)

The NMCC has fined SRL Consenur, S.L.U. (Consenur) for having closed the acquisition of Cathisa Medioambiente, S.L., in August 2015 without having notified nor gained the relevant antitrust approval. The transaction was finally notified on June 2016. According to the Decision, the NMCC and (...)

The SCA has imposed fines totalling €75.6 million on several companies operating the rail-cargo market, for practices contrary to Articles 1 and 2 of the Competition Act and Articles 101 and 102 TFEU (according to a recent press release by the NCA). Renfe and (...)

On 3 February 2017, the SCA has initiated proceedings against Aspen Pharma Ireland Ltd, Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited and Aspen Pharma Trading Limited (Aspen) for possible abusive practices consisting on a refusal to supply certain pharmaceuticals and for excessive prices. The SCA also (...)

A First Instance Commercial Court dismisses the lawsuit filed against Blablacar for unfair competition stating that Blablacar is a platform that focuses exclusively on private transport and is therefore not subject to transportation regulations (Judgement of the Commercial Court of 2 February (...)

On 29 November 2012, the SCA fined the Regional As Regional Association of Winemakers of Valdepeñas (ASEVIVALDEPEÑAS) for infringement of Articles 1 SCA and 101 TFEU (Decision). On review by the Supreme Court, ASEVIVALDEPEÑAS invoked the principle of legitimate (...)

On 19 January 2017 the Spanish Competition Authority (SCA) issued a decision clearing PFIZER of antitrust charges and blessing PFIZER’s dual pricing system (SCA Decision). In 2009, the SCA decided (First Decision) to close the antitrust investigation against COMPAÑÍA FARMACÉUTICA ESPAÑOLA, S.A. (...)

On 18 January 2017, the SCA has published guidance providing information regarding the prosecution of competition law irregularities in the area of public procurement (Guidance). In recent years, the SCA has fined several companies for bid-rigging (e.g., adult-diapers, (...)

The acquisition (Transaction) of Quironsalud by Fresenius Helios had been initially notified to the European Commission, who referred the Transaction to the SCA under Article 9 of the EU Merger Regulation. On 22 December 2016, the SCA issued its phase I decision authorizing the Transaction (...)

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules that the creation of the current SCA breached EU law (ECJ Judgment of 19 October 2016 (Case C-424/15)). The ECJ has issued its ruling on a request by the Supreme Court regarding the compatibility of the SCA creation back in 2013, when Spain integrated (...)

The Supreme Court has upheld the appeal filed by Caprari SpA (Caprari or Parent Company) against the decision of the SCA declaring the Parent Company guilty of conduct carried out by its Spanish subsidiary Bombas Caprari S.A. (Bombas Caprari or Subsidiary) (...)

The Ministry of Justice has published its proposal (Proposal) on the implementation in Spain of Directive 2014/104/UE, of the European Parliament and the Council, of 26 November 2014 (Directive). Before initiating the parliamentary approval process, the Proposal (...)

On 18 November the NMCC has approved the project of regulation regarding the wholesale markets for high speed Internet in Spain. After analysing the competitive conditions of the said markets the NMCC has identified Telefónica as the one operator having significant market power with regard to (...)

The NMCC has imposed fines of € 3 million and € 2,8 million respectively on Gestión Telecinco S.A. (Mediaset) and Antena 3 Televisión S.A. (Atresmedia) for infringing the commitments to which the authorisations of both past acquisitions of sole control over Cuatro and La Sexta, respectively, were (...)

The NMCC has fined Orange € 120,000 for preventing 525 users from switching their fixed telephone line operator between 2013 and 2014. Portability (the change of fixed telephony service provider keeping the same telephone number) is regulated as an essential right of users. According to the (...)

On 22 October 2015, the ECJ has issued a judgment on appeal against the European Commission (EC) decision in the Heat Stabilisers cartels (Commission v AC-Treuhand AG C-194/14 P). The ECJ stated that a fine can be imposed under Article 101 TFUE on a consulting firm for facilitating cartel (...)

The NMCC has fined with € 106.500 Grifols for failure to comply with the obligation to notify a concentration subject to the minimis market share threshold (i.e., when the turnover of the target does not exceed the € 10 million the market share threshold increases up to 50%). In particular, the (...)

The NMCC has fined the Las Palmas Bar Association €19,400 for a collective recommendation on prices contrary to Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA). Apparently, the Bar Association decided in favor of a member for having charged the professional fees calculated according to the (...)

The NMCC has imposed fines totalling €171 million on 21 automobile manufacturing and distributing companies in Spain, as well as two consulting companies, for anti-competitive practices (Decision of 23 July 2015, file S/0482/13). The NMCC considers that a single and continuous infringement of (...)

The NMCC has imposed fines totalling €15.5 million on Telefónica and DTS for the unlawful marketing of football broadcasting rights (Decision of 23 July 2015, file S/0436/12). On 23 July 2015, the NMCC fined Telefónica España S.A.U (Telefónica) and DTS Digital S.A (DTS) for illegally agreeing on (...)

On 21 January 2014, the NMCC fined € 8.17 million on Correos for abusing its dominant position on the wholesale market for postal services (access to the postal network) and on the retail market for postal services involving large senders (business customers) in Spain. The (...)

The NMCC has imposed fines totalling €57.7 million on 18 companies and one trade association active in the markets of paper and corrugated cardboard manufacturing (Decision of 18 June 2015, file S/0469/13). On 18 June 2015, the NMCC has fined 18 companies and one trade association for breaching (...)

The SC has annulled two NMCC decisions fining Transmediterránea (a Spanish shipping company that operates passenger and freight ferries). In particular, in two separate decisions (of November 2011 and February 2012) the NCC fined Transmediterránea €48.2 million for having participated in two (...)

On 12 November 2009 the NMCC issued fines amounting to a total of € 120 million on several insurance and reinsurance companies for their participation in an arrangement to fix minimum prices for decennial liability insurance policies ; its application ; the performance of surveillance (...)

New Trade Regulation Applicable to the Marketing of Football Broadcasting Rights. A Competitive Outcome ? You may be forgiven for thinking that broadcasting of football (soccer) events in Spain is big business. With some world class football clubs, broadcasting rights owned by Spanish (...)

The approved transaction consists of the acquisition by Telefónica (incumbent telecommunications operator also active in the pay TV market) of the exclusive control of DTS, through the purchase of the 56 % share capital in the hands of Prisa, which adds to the 44% share capital already owned by (...)

One of the features of the Spanish antitrust procedure is that the NMCC has in principle a limited time frame (18 months) from formal initiation of proceedings, to complete proceedings and issue a final administrative decision on the matter. In March 2015, the High Court held that the method (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has imposed fines totalling EUR 9 m to 45 car dealer companies operating in the country’s car distribution market for an infringement of Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA) (Decisions of 5 March 2015, files S/0486/13, S/0488/13 (...)

The NMCC has imposed fines totalling EUR 88.2m on nine companies and two associations operating in the country’s raw cow milk supply market for an infringement of Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA) and Article 101 TFEU. The NMCC initiated proceedings as a result of a report on the (...)

On 20 February 2015, the NMCC sanctioned Repsol S.A., Disa Corporación Petrolifera S.A., Meroil S.A., Galp Energía España S.A., BP España S.A. and Compañía Española de Petróleos S.A.U. (CEPSA) for several infringements of Articles 1 of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA) and 101 TFEU. In particular, the (...)

The Supreme Court (SC) has partially confirmed the interpretation followed by the National High Court (NHC) over the last two years regarding the limit of 10% of the company’s turnover established under Article 63 (1) of the Spanish Competition Act (SCA) for the calculation of fines. In its (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has imposed fines totalling EUR 98.2 million on 39 companies and three trade associations active in the waste management and urban sanitation in Spain (Decision of 8 January 2015, file S/0429/12). According to the Directorate of (...)

The Spanish Supreme Court annuls, in two landmark rulings, two decisions from the Competition Authority due to a violation of the fundamental right to inviolability of the home by the Authority The Supreme Court has annulled inspections carried out by the National Competition Commission (NCC) (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has imposed fines totalling EUR 4 million upon three companies that supply bearings to RENFE, which had formed a cartel (Decision of 4 December 2014, file S/0453/12). The NMCC has imposed fines totalling EUR 4.057 million upon three (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) approves the acquisition by Schibsted España S.L.U. (SCM Spain) of Milanuncios S.L.U. (MA) subject to remedies in a second phase merger. On 20 November 2014, the transaction of reference has been deemed authorized under Spanish merger (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission obliges the Spanish Football Federation to comply with the principles of transparency, objectivity and non-discrimination in the bidding for the broadcasting rights concerning the final of the King’s Cup Final and the Spanish Super Cup (Decision of (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) has fined Endesa Distribución Eléctrica S.A. (ENDESA) (€ 1.18 million) for abusing its dominant position on the electric installations market reserved to distributors, between 2009 and 2012. In particular, the abuse has consisted on an undue (...)

In late June the National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) published its definitive strategic plan, which has been approved by the Parliamentary Committee for Economy and Competitiveness. The document was previously subject to public consultation. In summary, the document contains a (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission (NMCC) imposed fines totaling € 2.13 million on six companies operating in the market of fire-fighting equipment for price-fixing and market-sharing agreements. The NMCC initiated investigations on the basis of a leniency application by one of the (...)

On 25 June 2014 the Commission has published a new De Minimis Notice (2014 Notice) which includes a revised set of rules for evaluating whether or not minor agreements between undertakings are caught by the general prohibition of anticompetitive agreements. Agreements below the market share (...)

The General Court of the European Union (GC) judgment of 12 June 2014 has confirmed the record € 1.06 billion fine imposed on Intel by the Commission Decision in 2009. According to the Commission, Intel had abused its dominant position in the x86 CPUs market (i.e. essentially, the market for (...)

The Court of Justice confirms the general principle that “umbrella pricing” victims may obtain compensation from the members of a cartel even if there is no contractual relationship with them (Judgment 5 June 2014, Case C-557/12). Facts of the case before the Austrian civil courts In 2007, both (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission has fined the Regional Association of Travel Agents of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and several taxi driver associations for fixing the prices of pre-booked taxis (Decision 21 March 2014, Case Taxis Tenerife Sacan, file S/0018/12). In its Decision of (...)

The National Markets and Competition Commission ends proceedings against Telefónica, Vodafone and Orange for an alleged abuse of collective dominant position (Decision 6 March 2014, Case Llamadas Moviles, file S/0391/11). In 2012, due to a complaint of British Telecommunications and its Spanish (...)

In a landmark ruling, the Spanish Supreme Court has ordered the payment of a compensation for antitrust damages to several candy manufacturers (Judgment of 7 November 2013). The sugar “cartel” In a decision of 15 April 1999, the Spanish Competition Authority declared the existence of a price (...)

On 24 August 2012 the Cabinet, using the powers granted to that end by the 2007 Competition Act, has decided to soften the conditions included in the NCC Decision. The Cabinet has acted using as legal basis Article 60 of the Competition Act, which enables the Government (the Cabinet) to amend (...)

Following a second phase in-depth investigation, the Spanish NCC concluded that the operation could give rise to significant competition issues in several audiovisual markets in Spain, specially the television advertising market, due to the Antena 3‘s increased market power and the enhanced (...)

Last 14 July 2012 the Spanish Government passed an urgent Royal Decree Law by means of which some of the rules related to price reductions included in the Retail Trade Act (Law 7/1996) are amended. On this regard, the new Royal Decree Law, which comes into force on September 1st 2012, (...)

This is an interesting case and we are reporting it based on the publicly available (press) information. The merger Decision on the case is not public. Verifone Systems, Inc is a global leader in secure electronic payment solutions, and Hypercom Corporation, a high security electronic payment (...)

The NCC has recently published a study on the relationships between manufacturers and distributors in the food sector (Study). The 160 page long Study, provides an interesting perspective on issues related to buyer power in Spain which have caused quite a few problems in the last few years. (...)

The NCC attempts to provide guidelines on which merger cases are suitable for reduced form notification. There are a number of statements where the NCC does nothing other than remind its usual practice and/or its statutory powers. The NCC also (informally and without providing (...)

NCC has imposed a heavy fine for conduct by members of inspected company Transmediterranea allegedly obstructing a surprise inspection at company premises. Although it is not the first time the NCC fines a company for obstruction in the framework of dawn raids, the facts of this case look (...)

The merger consisting of the acquisition by EBRO FOODS, S.A. (EBRO) of DEOLEO, S.A. (DEOLEO) – formerly SOS COPRPORACION ALIMENTARIA, S.A. (SOS) - rice business assets leads to the concentration of the two main operators in transformation and wholesale rice, for its commercialization with (...)

On 2 December 2009 the Investigation Direction of NCC opened a formal proceeding against Gas Natural due to possible anticompetitive practices consisting of hindering access to the natural gas supply market by refusing to process suppliers’ change requests made trough sound recordings. The (...)

On 30 June 2011 the NCC has decided to close a formal proceeding opened ex officio against Corporación Vocento S.A.U. and Vocento, S.A. (VOCENTO) and Publipress Media, S.L.U. and Grupo Godó de Comunicaciones S.A. (GODÓ) for possible restrictive practices under Article 1 SCA. The practices (...)

The European Court of Justice has issued a Judgement (Decision of 14 June 2011, Pfleiderer, Case C-360/09) on a preliminary ruling from a national court, on a key matter regarding antitrust damages claims. The situation encountered by the national court, in essence, referred to a petition by a (...)

On October 2008, the NCC received a complaint from the National Association of Canned Fish and Seafood Manufacturers (ANFACO) against various organizations of mussel producers in Galicia. As a result of the investigation, the NCC opened formal proceedings against the mussel (...)

The merger of Redsys Servicios de Procesamiento (RESDYS) and Redes y Procesos (REDY), two payment processing companies was notified to the NCC on 16 August 2010. The NCC decided on October 2010 to open phase 2 proceedings because it took the view that the operation could hinder the (...)

The commitments finally presented by AISGE redesign the calculation of the tariffs to reflect effective use of its repertoire and have been considered adequate to resolve the anti-competitive effects of the conduct of AISGE ; AISGE was under investigation in relation to unfair and (...)

Mediapro holds the broadcasting rights for the Spanish first division league (Liga) and King’s Cup (Copa de S.M. el Rey) for 2009/2010 and subsequent seasons. Therefore Mediapro has a dominant position in the market for the resale of broadcasting rights. Furthermore, Mediapro is (...)

1. Introduction : the Sustainable Economy Act 1.1. On 15 February 2011, the Spanish Parliament has passed the Sustainable Economy Act, which introduces several structural reforms aimed to boost economic activity in Spain. Amongst such reforms (which include, for instance, measures relating to (...)

A new Media Act has entered into force in Spain earlier this year. The preamble to the Media Act notices how the media sector has evolved, particularly due to the introduction of digital technology and the end of the limited spectrum paradigm. The preceding media law was hitherto contained in (...)

This note provides a summary of the immunity/leniency regime rules in Spain. These rules are contained in the regulation (Implementing Regulation) implementing Law 15/2007, of 3 July 2007, on Competition (Competition Act), which entered into force in Spain in September 2007. The Implementing (...)

Football is an important matter in Spain. Such importance is currently being illustrated by the mediatic and legal warfare between two media groups, Sogecable and Mediapro, which are fighting over the football league’s broadcasting rights. Each weekend, since the professional league season (...)

On the 16 November 2006, the Spanish telecommunications regulator ("Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones", CMT) fined the incumbent Telefónica € 20 M for failing to comply with the conditions for access to the subscriber loop applying to third party operators in connection with the (...)

On 26 September 2006 the European Commission (Commission) ruled against the decision of the Spanish energy regulator (Comisión Nacional de la Energía or CNE) granting clearance to E.ON’s takeover bid for Endesa subject to a number of conditions, on the grounds of a breach of Article 21 of Council (...)