Conferences and Speeches
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Tackling cartels – a never-ending task
Conference on Anti-Cartel Enforcement: Criminal and Administrative Policy – Panel session, Brasilia, Neelie Kroes
8 October 2009
"I don't want to merely destabilise cartels. I want to tear the ground from under them.
This requires effective deterrence across a range of competition systems appropriate to the legal traditions of each country.
We can't turn that deterrence on and off according to the economic cycle."
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Power transformers cartel busted; Microsoft web browsers case
Opening remarks at press conference, Brussels, Neelie Kroes
7 October 2009
"The Commission's preliminary view is that Microsoft's commitments would indeed address our competition concerns.
Microsoft's proposal in particular recognises the principle that consumers should be given a free and effective choice of web browser.
It would empower all current and future users of Windows in Europe to choose which browser they wished to use."
International
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Commissioner Kroes signs Memorandum of Understanding with Brazil
9 October 2009
On 8 October 2009, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase cooperation between the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition and the Brazilian competition authorities.
The Memorandum of Understanding provides a framework for administrative cooperation, dialogue and exchanges between the Commission's competition department and Brazil's competition authorities.
Mergers
Antitrust
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Commission market tests Microsoft's proposal to ensure consumer choice of web browsers; welcomes further improvements in field of interoperability
7 October 2009
The Commission has invited comments from consumers, software companies, computer manufacturers and other interested parties on an improved proposal by Microsoft to give users of the Windows PC operating system a greater choice of web browsers.
Microsoft offered the commitments following competition concerns raised by the Commission in connection with the tying of Microsoft's web browser (Internet Explorer) to its client PC operating system Windows.
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Commission fines producers of power transformers € 67.6 million for market sharing cartel
7 October 2009
The Commission imposed fines totalling € 67 644 000 on seven companies: ABB, AREVA T&D, ALSTOM, Fuji Electrics, Hitachi and Toshiba.
Between 1999 and 2003, these companies participated in a cartel for power transformers, where they agreed that the Japanese members would not sell power transformers in Europe and that the European members would not sell power transformers in Japan..
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Commission action against cartels – Questions and answers
7 October 2009
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Commission confirms surprise inspections in the pharmaceutical sector
6 October 2009
The Commission confirmed that on 6 October Commission officials started surprise inspections at the premises of certain companies active in the pharmaceutical industry.
The Commission has reason to believe that the EC Treaty competition rules (Articles 81 and 82) may have been infringed.
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Commission market tests commitments proposed by Svenska Kraftnät concerning Swedish electricity transmission market
6 October 2009
The Commission invited comments from interested parties on the commitments offered by Svenska Kraftnät (SvK), the Swedish transmission system operator, following the Commission's concerns that SvK might have breached Article 82 of the EC Treaty.
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Public consultation on revised draft Block Exemption Regulation for insurance sector
5 October 2009
The Commission invited comments on its revised draft Block Exemption Regulation (BER) for the insurance sector.
The current insurance Block Exemption Regulation will expire on 31 March 2010.
Agreements currently covered by the Block Exemption Regulation include the establishment of non-binding standard policy conditions, the exchange of statistical information for the calculation of risks, the creation and operation of insurance pools as well as agreements on security devices.
The revised draft Block Exemption Regulation proposes to renew two of the four categories of agreements currently exempted, namely information exchange and insurance pools, with certain amendments.
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Commission raises serious doubts about Austrian broadband market definition
5 October 2009
The Commission called on the Austrian telecommunications regulator RTR to suspend the adoption of regulatory measures regarding the definition of the Austrian broadband access market, the so called bitstream access market.
The Commission has serious doubts as to the compatibility of the provisions defining the Austrian wholesale broadband access market with EU law.
State aid
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Commission recalls rules concerning Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital transactions for banks subject to a restructuring aid investigation
8 October 2009
Following questions from market operators, the Commission recalled the rules of its Communication on restructuring aid to financial institutions (see
IP/09/1180 and
MEMO/09/350)
regarding the possibility for banks, that are the subject of pending Commission investigations regarding the grant of restructuring aid, to repay bonds before maturity.
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Commission authorises temporary Polish scheme allowing limited amounts of aid to boost real economy
8 October 2009
The Commission authorised a Polish scheme aimed at providing relief to companies encountering financing difficulties as a result of the credit squeeze in the current economic crisis.
The scheme is in line with EU state aid rules, because it is limited in time, respects the relevant thresholds and applies only to companies that were not in difficulty on 1 July 2008.
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Commission approves temporary additional aid to German Landesbank WestLB
7 October 2009
The Commission authorised a temporary increase of the guarantee for a portfolio of securities of German Landesbank WestLB.
The aid measure amounts to €6.4 billion and is provided by SoFFin, a fund administrating the German support scheme for financial institutions.
WestLB is currently in the process of implementing a restructuring plan that was approved by the Commission in May 2009 (see
IP/09/741).
The plan foresees, among other measures, the creation of a "bad bank", which will ensure that the bank can return to viability.
The Commission found the new aid in line with EU state aid rules, because it is necessary for the creation of the "bad bank".
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Commission approves French short-term export-credit insurance scheme
5 October 2009
The Commission authorised a French measure aimed at limiting the adverse impact of the current financial crisis on export firms.
The Commission found the measure to be in line with EU state aid rules, because it tackles the problem of the current unavailability of short-term export credit insurance cover in the private market.
Court
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Joined cases C-501/06, C-513/06, C-515/06 and C-519/06 GlaxoSmithKline v Commissio
6 October 2009
The Court of Justice ruled on appeals brought against a Court of First Instance ruling of 27 September 2006 (
T-168/01)
partly annulling a Commission decision of 8 May 2001 (see
IP/01/661) that had prohibited Glaxo Wellcome's (now GlaxoSmithKline) system of differentiated pricing for pharmaceutical products in Spain.
The ECJ confirmed the Commission's finding that dual pricing was a restriction of competition by object.
The ECJ confirmed the CFI judgment by ruling that the Commission had not sufficiently investigated GSK's arguments for an exemption from Article 81.
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T-8/06,
T-21/06 and
T-24/06 FAB and others v Commission
6 October 2009
The Court of First Instance ruled on appeals against a Commission decision of 9 November 2005 (see
IP/05/1394),
that had found subsidies for digital terrestrial TV (DVB-T) in Berlin Brandenburg incompatible with the Single Market and had ordered their recovery from the beneficiaries.
The CFI rejected all appeals and upheld the Commission's decision in its entirety.
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