Competition weekly news summary
24 July 2015

Summer break

Dear subscriber,
In view of the reduced number of decisions to be issued over the next few weeks, the competition weekly news summary will not be circulated every Friday - this is the last issue for July and August.

The next edition, summarising developments during August, will be published on 4 September.


Antitrust

  • Commission sends Statement of Objections on cross-border provision of pay-TV services available in UK and Ireland
    23 July 2015
    The European Commission has today sent a Statement of Objections to Sky UK and six major US film studios: Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. The Commission takes the preliminary view that each of the six studios and Sky UK have bilaterally agreed to put in place contractual restrictions that prevent Sky UK from allowing EU consumers located elsewhere to access, via satellite or online, pay-TV services available in the UK and Ireland. Without these restrictions, Sky UK would be free to decide on commercial grounds whether to sell its pay-TV services to such consumers requesting access to its services, taking into account the regulatory framework including, as regards online pay-TV services, the relevant national copyright laws.
    Read more >

Mergers

  • Commission approves Nokia´s acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent
    24 July 2015
    The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent by Nokia. Both companies are global providers of telecommunications equipment and related services. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns, in particular because the parties are not close competitors and since a number of strong global competitors will remain active after the transaction.
    Read more >

State aid

  • Commission approves liquidation aid for Italian bank Banca Romagna Cooperativa
    18 July 2015
    The European Commission has decided that an Italian liquidation measure in favour of a small Italian cooperative bank "Banca Romagna Cooperativa – Credito Cooperativo Romagna Centro e Macerone" (Banca Romagna Cooperativa) is compatible with EU state aid rules.
    Read more >
  • Commission orders France to recover €1.37 billion in incompatible aid from EDF
    22 July 2015
    The European Commission has decided that Électricité de France (EDF), the main electricity provider in France, has been granted tax breaks incompatible with EU rules on State aid. In 1997 France did not levy all the corporation tax payable by EDF when certain accounting provisions were reclassified as capital. This tax exemption conferred on EDF an undue economic advantage compared with other operators on the market and so distorted competition. In order to remedy this distortion, EDF must now repay that aid. The Commission reopened its investigation in 2013 following annulment of an earlier decision by the EU Court of Justice.
    Read more >
  • Commission approves public financing of Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link
    23 July 2015
    The European Commission has approved the public financing model of the Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link between Denmark and Germany, considering it in line with EU state aid rules. The Fehmarn Belt fixed rail-road link is a key element to complete the main North-South route connecting central Europe and the Nordic countries. The financing model notified by Denmark involves public support for the planning, construction and operation of the rail-road fixed link and the Danish rail and road connections.The costs of the entire project are estimated to be DKK 64.4 billion (€8.7 billion), part of which is funded by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility (see p.106 of the 2014 CEF Proposal).
    Read more >
  • Commission approves €117 million in investment aid for NEXEN tyre plant in Czech Republic
    23 July 2015
    The European Commission has approved regional investment aid totalling almost €117million (CZK 3 207 million) to Nexen Tire Corporation Czech s.r.o. (Nexen) for the construction of a tyre production plant in Žatec, Czech Republic. The Commission found that the aid granted by the Czech Republic was compatible with EU state aid rules, and that it promotes regional development without unduly distorting competition in the internal market.
    Read more >

 

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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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