Competition weekly news summary
7 November 2014


Mergers

  • New competition merger brief
    7 November 2014
    The first edition of the competiton merger brief is now available on the competition website. It features a foreword by Commissioner Vestager and several articles on recent EU merger issues. In particular, the articles discuss (i) the early implementation of the Marine Harvest / Morpol transaction, (ii) the SSAB / Rautaruukki merger and (iii) the Commission's review of mobile telecoms mergers.
    Read full merger brief >
  • Commission opens in-depth investigation into proposed acquisition of Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA by SOCAR
    5 November 2014
    The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of the Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. SOCAR's activities include the production of natural gas and the upstream wholesale sale of gas in Greece in the context of the Southern Gas Corridor. DESFA owns and operates Greek's sole high-pressure gas transmission and Greece's only LNG terminal and mainly transports gas through its network. The Commission has concerns that the transaction may reduce competition on the upstream wholesale supply market for natural gas in Greece because it could allow the merged entity to hinder SOCAR's competitors in accessing the Greek gas transmission network. The Commission aims to ensure that the sale of DESFA, part of the Greek government privatisation programme with a view to modernise and liberalise the energy markets, does not result in competitive harm and ultimately higher gas prices for consumers in Greece.
    Read more >
  • Commission closes infringement proceedings against Munksjö and Ahlstrom concerning provision of information in the context of a merger investigation
    29 October 2014
    The Commission has closed proceedings against Ahlstrom Corporation, Munksjö Oyi, both of Finland, and Munksjö AB of Sweden, for a suspected infringement of the rules concerning the provision of information to the Commission for merger control purposes. The Commission was concerned that the companies provided misleading information to the Commission in the course of the notification of a transaction under the EU Merger Regulation. In response to the Statement of Objections sent by the Commission in February, the parties have now provided contemporaneous evidence explaining the discrepancies between the estimates provided to the Commission and the parties' internal documents.
    Read more >
  • Commission approves acquisition of US producer of digital cinema solutions Doremi by rival Dolby
    27 October 2014
    The Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of Doremi by Dolby, both of the United States. The Commission's investigation confirmed that, despite the overlap between the two companies' activities in the production of digital cinema servers (DCS) worldwide and in the EEA, the proposed transaction would not lead to any anticompetitive effects because of the presence of alternative suppliers, the fast-moving nature of the market and the ease of switching for customers. The Commission's investigation also confirmed the absence of any anti-competitive conglomerate effects resulting from the combination of the parties' activities in the production of DCS and digital cinema audio processors.
    Read more >

State aid

  • Statement by Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on tax state aid investigations
    6 November 2014
    Tax rulings as such are common practice in Member States. However, if in a tax ruling, the tax authorities of a Member State accept that a tax base of a specific company is calculated in a favourable way which does not correspond to market conditions, it may give to the company a more favourable treatment than what other companies would normally get under the country's tax rules, and this could constitute State aid.
    Read full statement >
  • New competition policy brief on State aid modernisation
    31 October 2014
    State aid modernisation (SAM) cuts red tape and simplifies the granting of State aid. This in turn increases the efficiency of state aid policy. SAM provides incentives for Member States to allocate good aid to companies in a non-distortionary manner. This contributes directly to promoting growth and jobs. SAM contributes to a better quality of public service by promoting principles of accountability and transparency.
    Read full policy brief >
  • Commission approves creation of Portuguese development financial institution
    27 October 2014
    The Commission has concluded that Portuguese plans for the set up of a financial institution (the Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento, IFD), funded by the Portuguese state and European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), were in line with EU state aid rules. The IFD will manage holding or specialised funds and provide SMEs with access to funding on a co-investment basis with private investors. In particular, the Commission found that the measure would address market failures that hamper SMEs access to finance, without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.
    Read more >
  • Safer banks serving the economy: Commission welcomes publication of EU-wide stress test results by European Banking Authority and comprehensive assessment by European Central Bank
    27 October 2014
    Since the onset of the financial crisis, major improvements in the EU regulatory framework, the level and quality of banks' capital and supervision have considerably strengthened the resilience of European banks. Today’s results of the EU-wide stress test and the comprehensive assessment, which represent the most intense scrutiny that banks have ever undergone in Europe, confirm overall this positive trend. It is also an important step towards an operational Single Supervisory Mechanism, which is a key component of the Banking Union.
    Read more >

Court

  • Cases T-219/10 and T-399/11 (Spanish goodwill I and II state aid decisions)
    7 November 2014
    The EU General Court ruled on appeals by the Spanish companies Autorgrill and Santander against two Commission decisions of, respectively, October 2009 and January 2011. The 2009 decision (Spanish goodwill I) found that a provision of the Spanish corporate tax law, allowing companies taxable in Spain a tax advantage for the acquisition of shareholdings in foreign compmanies, amounted to incompatible state aid, as it treated intra-EU acquisitions more favorably than domestic transactions without any objective reason. The 2011 decision (Spanish goodwill II) came to the same finding with regard to the majority of extra-EU acquisitions. The GC annulled both decisions, holding that the Commission had not established the selective character of the measure.
    Court's press release >
    Read full Autogrill judgment >
    Read full Santander judgment >
    Read more about Commission's 2011 decision >
    Read more about Commission's 2009 decision >
  • Case T-362/10 state aid for broadband in Cornwall region
    5 November 2014
    The EU General Court ruled on an appeal by Vtesse against a Commission decision of May 2010 finding that UK plans for supporting the roll-out of next generation broadband in the Cornwall region were in line with EU state aid rules. The GC dismissed the appeal and upheld the Commission's findings.
    Read full judgment >
    Read more about the Commission's 2010 decision >

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Published by the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use which might be made of the above information.

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