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The next competition e-News will be circulated on 10 April 2015.
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Conferences and Speeches
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Competition policy for the Digital Single Market: Focus on e-commerce
Bundeskartellamt International Conference on Competition, Berlin, Margrethe Vestager
26 March 2015
"Europeans have embraced e-commerce with glee.
In 2014, one European consumer in two shopped online. However, only about one in seven bought something from across a border.
How can we explain this gap?
[...] to better understand how online markets work and where are the obstacles to competition, I will propose to the Commission the launch of a sector inquiry into e-commerce. [...]
We want to focus on the barriers to the cross-border sale of goods and digital content erected by private companies, especially in their distribution contracts."
Read full speech >
Competition
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Commissioner Vestager announces proposal for e-commerce sector inquiry
26 March 2015
Commissioner Vestager announced today at a conference in Berlin a forthcoming proposal to launch a competition inquiry in the e-commerce sector.
More and more goods and services are traded over the internet in Europe.
At the same time, cross-border online sales within the EU are only growing slowly.
This is partly due to language barriers, consumer preferences and differences in legislation across Member States.
However, there are also indications that some companies may be taking measures to restrict cross-border e-commerce.
The sector inquiry would focus on better identifying and addressing these measures, in line with the Commission's priorities to create a connected Digital Single Market.
Commissioner Vestager will table her proposal to the Commission in the coming weeks.
Read more >
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Digital Single Market Strategy: European Commission agrees areas for action
25 March 2015
Digital technology is part of everyday life.
From studying to watching films, buying or selling online to connecting with friends or your doctor – the internet is a goldmine of digital opportunities.
But every day in the EU people and companies run into many barriers – from geo-blocking or cross-border parcel delivery inefficiencies to unconnected e-services.
Digital services too often remain confined to national borders.
The Juncker Commission has made it a priority to remove these obstacles and create a Digital Single Market: making the EU's single market freedoms "go digital", and boosting growth and jobs on our continent.
The College of Commissioners today had a first discussion on the Digital Single Market Strategy due in May – and set out the main areas the Commission will focus its work on to trigger real changes for consumers and businesses alike.
Read more >
Antitrust
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Commission sends Statement of Objections to Bulgarian Energy Holding and subsidiaries for suspected abuse of dominance on Bulgarian natural gas markets
23 March 2015
The Commission has informed Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), of its preliminary view that BEH may have breached EU antitrust rules by hindering competitors access to key gas infrastructures in Bulgaria.
Read more >
State aid
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Commission concludes that majority of derogations from British Aggregates Levy are free of aid
27 March 2015
The Commission has concluded that all but one of the exemptions, exclusions and tax reliefs from the aggregates levy introduced in the United Kingdom in 2002 are free of state aid.
The British aggregates levy is a tax on aggregates, a material often used in construction, which aims to encourage the use of recycled aggregates and reduce environmental damage.
It is levied on rock, sand or gravel on their first extraction as well as on processed products.
Derogations apply to certain extraction processes and to materials with certain geological features.
After the annulment of its first decision by the EU General Court, the Commission has now found that only the exemptions for shale and spoil for shale extraction are not justified because shale is the only exempted material that is deliberately extracted to produce aggregates.
Exempting shale and spoil for shale extraction from the aggregates levy therefore does not contribute to the environmental objective of the tax.
Consequently, the beneficiaries of the exemption have received an undue advantage that they now have to pay back.
Read more >
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Commission approves German exemptions from mandatory rebates for pharmaceutical companies
27 March 2015
Following an in-depth investigation, the Commission has concluded that a German scheme exempting pharmaceutical companies from mandatory rebates was in line with EU State aid rules.
In particular, the Commission found that the scheme allows the costs of the public health system to be kept under control through price freezes on certain medicines, without going beyond what is strictly necessary for this purpose.
Read more >
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Commission opens in-depth investigation into public contracts between Brussels authorities and French advertising company JC Decaux
24 March 2015
Following a complaint, the Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether two measures granted by the Brussels authorities in favour of the French outdoor advertising company JC Decaux were in line with EU state aid rules.
The Commission has concerns that certain tax and rent exemptions may have given the company a selective advantage over its competitors.
Read more >
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Commission opens in-depth investigation into Spanish high-speed railway test centre
23 March 2015
The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to examine whether the public financing of a test centre for high-speed trains and related equipment near Malaga in Spain is compatible with EU state aid rules.
Under Spain's current plans, the project costs of €358.6 million would be fully financed by the EU Regional Development Fund and Spain.
At this stage, the Commission has doubts that the project pursues a genuine objective of common interest.
Read more >
Court
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Case T-556/08 Slovak post antitrust decision
25 March 2015
The EU General Court ruled on an appeal by the Slovak post against a Commission decision of October 2008, requesting Slovakia to re-open competition in the hybrid mail sector.
The GC dismissed the appeal and confirmed the Commission's assessment that re-monopolising hybrid mail to the benefit of the incumbent postal operator was contraty to Article 106(1) in conjunction with Article 102 TFEU.
The GC held in particular that neither Slovakia nor the Slovak Post have demonstrated that the restriction of competition resulting from the re-monopolisation was necessary to finance the universal postal service.
Read full judgment >
Read more about Commission's 2008 decision >
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Case T-456/13 request for access to documents in a state aid case
25 March 2015
The General Court ruled on SEA Handling's action against the Commission's rejection of the company's request for access to documents in the Commission's file in the SEA Handling state aid case.
The GC confirmed that EU rules on public access to documents forbid the disclosure of documents in a competition file related to a case pending before EU courts.
This is because there is a general presumption that their disclosure would harm the commercial interests of third parties and the objectives of investigation activities.
Read full judgment >
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