Competition weekly news summary
24 April 2015


Conferences and speeches

  • Shaken, not stirred. Competition Law Enforcement and Standard Essential Patents
    Mentor Group – Brussels Forum, Brussels, Alexander Italianer
    21 April 2015
    "Standards are one of the cornerstones of the Digital Single Market. In fact, without standards, there probably would be no Digital Single Market. But from the perspective of competition policy, there can also be potential problems with standard setting."
    Read full speech >
  • Enforcing competition rules in the global village
    Margrethe Vestager
    20 April 2015
    "The competition department I lead works very closely together with the national agencies in the countries of the Union. We all apply the same rules of the EU Treaty. These rules have become the law of the land throughout the EU."
    Read full speech >

Antitrust

  • Commission sends Statement of Objections to Gazprom for alleged abuse of dominance on Central and Eastern European gas supply markets
    22 April 2015
    The Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Gazprom alleging that some of its business practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets constitute an abuse of its dominant market position. The Commission's preliminary view is that Gazprom is pursuing an overall strategy to partition Central and Eastern European gas markets, for example by reducing its customers’ ability to resell the gas cross-border. This may have enabled Gazprom to charge unfair prices in certain Member States. Gazprom may also have abused its dominant market position by making the supply of gas dependent on obtaining unrelated commitments from wholesalers concerning gas transport infrastructure.
    Commissioner Vestager's statement >
    Commission press release >
    Fact sheet >
  • Commission confirms unannounced inspection in biofuel sector
    21 April 2015
    On 24 March 2015, Commission officials carried out an unannounced inspection in Spain at the premises of a company active in the production, distribution and trading of ethanol, a biofuel. This follows inspections that the Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority undertook in May 2013 in the crude oil, refined oil products and biofuel sectors and inspections that the Commission undertook in October 2014 in the biofuel sector. The Commission has concerns that price benchmarks may have been distorted through anti-competitive behaviour, including through possible collusion when submitting price information to a price reporting agency.
    Read more >
  • Commission confirms unannounced inspections in bioethanol sector
    21 April 2015
    On 24 March 2015, Commission officials undertook unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in the production or trading of bioethanol. The Commission has concerns that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices. The investigation should clarify the facts concerning the possible participation by producers or traders of bioethanol in agreements or concerted practices aimed at fixing prices or sharing markets and customers.
    Read more >

Mergers

  • Commission approves acquisition of certain Lafarge and Holcim assets by CRH
    24 April 2015
    The Commission has cleared the proposed acquisition of several assets of Holcim of Switzerland and of Lafarge of France by Irish building materials manufacturer CRH. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns, in particular because the merged entity will continue to face sufficiently strong competition after the merger and customers will have alternative suppliers in all markets concerned.
    Read more >
  • Commission clears Altice’s acquisition of PT Portugal, subject to conditions, rejects referral request by Portugal's competition authority
    20 April 2015
    The Commission has authorised the proposed acquisition of the Portuguese telecommunications operator PT Portugal by the multinational cable and telecommunications company Altice. The decision is conditional upon the divestment of Altice's current Portuguese businesses ONI and Cabovisão. The Commission had concerns that the merged entity would have faced insufficient competitive constraint from the remaining players on the market for fixed telecommunications. This could have led to higher prices for clients. The divestments offered by Altice address these concerns. The Commission has also rejected a request to refer the examination of the transaction to the Portuguese competition authority.
    Read more >

State aid

  • Commission authorises Portuguese demonstration scheme for ocean energy technologies
    23 April 2015
    The Commission has found a Portuguese scheme aimed at promoting renewable energy technologies to be in line with EU state aid rules. The scheme will support demonstration projects producing renewable energy from the ocean (wave energy, tidal energy) and innovative offshore wind technologies. The Commission concluded in particular that the project would further EU energy and environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.
    Read more >
  • Commission temporarily approves rescue aid for Romanian Complexul Energetic Hunedoara
    21 April 2015
    The Commission has concluded that temporary rescue aid of RON 167 million (approx. €37.7 million) to be granted by the Romanian authorities to CE Hunedoara, the state-owned electricity and heat producer, is in line with EU state aid rules. In particular, the Commission found that the aid was limited to the amount necessary to allow CE Hunedoara to continue operating its power plants in the next six months. At the end of this period, the company will either pay back the aid or Romania will notify a restructuring plan, setting out measures to ensure the company's long-term viability.
    Read more >

Competition

  • Commission calls for tenders for study on passing-on of overcharges stemming from antitrust infringements
    24 April 2015
    Following a Commission proposal, the Council has adopted in November 2014 a directive on antitrust damages actions. The Directive will help citizens and companies claim damages if they are victims of infringements of EU antitrust rules, such as cartels or abuses of dominant market positions. One of the main improvements introduced by the Directive is that if an infringement has caused price increases and these have been "passed on" along the distribution chain, those who suffered the harm in the end will be entitled to claim compensation.

    The Commission has now opened a call for tenders for a study on the passing-on of such overcharges. The study should provide the Commission with up-to-date information on economic theories, econometric methods and empirical insights which can be useful for national courts when assessing the phenomenon of passing-on in the context of an antitrust damages action. The deadline for submitting tenders is 2 June 2015.
    More information on the tender >
    More information on actions for damages >

Court

  • Case C-277/14 P LCD cartel
    23 April 2015
    The EU Court of Justice ruled on an appeal by LG Display against a General Court judgment of February 2014. The GC ruling had mainly upheld a Commission decision of 2010 fining LG Display and others for participating in a cartel in the market for LCD panels. The EUCJ dismissed the appeal and confirmed the earlier GC judgment.
    Read full EUCJ judgment >
    Read full GC judgment under appeal >
    Read more about Commission's 2010 decision >
  • Case C-376/13 competition in Bulgarian broadcasting infrastructure
    23 April 2015
    In January 2013, the Commission had referred Bulgaria to the EU Court of Justice over the assignment of digital terrestrial broadcasting authorisations. The Commission considered that the procedure followed by Bulgaria was based on disproportionately restrictive award conditions, leading to the exclusion of potential candidates and hampering competition. The EUCJ has now fully confirmed the Commission's findings. The judgment provides guidance on how Member States can assign spectrum in line with EU law.
    Read full judgment >
    Read more about the Commission's 2013 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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