Competition weekly news summary
27 February 2015


Conferences and Speeches

  • Market Opening: Regulation vs Competition?
    48th Innsbruck Symposium, Innsbruck, Alexander Italianer
    ""Once you let the genie of competition out of the bottle, a great many wishes can come true: growth, jobs, choice, innovation. The trouble with genies is – you should not allow them to get out of control."
    Read full speech >

Mergers

  • Commission clears Liberty Global’s acquisition of controlling stake in De Vijver Media, subject to commitments
    24 February 2015
    Following an in-depth investigation, the Commission has cleared Liberty Global's acquisition of a stake in the Belgian media company De Vijver Media NV (“De Vijver”). The decision is subject to commitments. The Commission had concerns that, after the transaction, De Vijver would refuse to license its channels to TV distributors that compete with Telenet, a cable company controlled by Liberty Global. The commitments address these concerns by obliging De Vijver to license its channels – Vier, Vijf and any other similar channel it may launch – to TV distributors in Belgium under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.
    Read more >
  • Commission opens in-depth investigation into General Electric's proposed acquisition of Alstom's energy businesses
    23 February 2015
    The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether General Electric's (GE) proposed acquisition of the Thermal Power, Renewable Power & Grid businesses of Alstom is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission’s preliminary investigation indicates potential competition concerns in the market for heavy-duty gas turbines which are mainly used in gas-fired power plants. The transaction would bring together the activities of GE, the world's largest manufacturer of heavy-duty gas turbines, with those of Alstom, eliminating one of the three main global competitors to GE in this market.
    Read more >
  • Commission opens in-depth investigation into Cargill and ADM's proposed industrial chocolate merger
    23 February 2015
    The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the proposed acquisition of the industrial chocolate business of Archer Daniels Midland ("ADM") by Cargill is in line with the EU Merger Regulation. Both US-based companies supply industrial chocolate as well as fat-based coatings and fillings. The Commission’s preliminary investigation showed potential competition concerns in the supply of industrial chocolate to customers in Germany and the UK. The Commission found that Cargill, ADM and Barry Callebaut are the main suppliers of industrial chocolate to customers in these markets. The proposed transaction could eliminate an important competitor and reduce the choice of suitable suppliers in already concentrated markets, which could lead to price increases.
    Read more >

State aid

  • Commission opens in-depth investigation into UK public measures in favour of Lynemouth power plant
    19 February 2015
    The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether UK plans to support the conversion of the Lynemouth coal power plant to operate entirely on biomass were in line with EU state aid rules. The Commission will investigate further to make sure that the public funds used to support the project are limited to what is necessary and do not result in overcompensation. It will also assess whether the positive effects of the project in achieving EU energy and environmental objectives outweigh potential competition distortions in the market for biomass.
    Read more >

Court

  • Cases T-385/12 and T-135/12 France Télécom pension subsidies
    26 February 2015
    The EU General Court ruled on appeals by France and Orange (formerly France Télécom) against a Commission decision of 2011, finding certain financing measures in favour of France Télécom regarding the pension contributions for its civil servants to be in line with EU state aid rules, subject to certain conditions. The conditions introduced by the Commission required the level of contributions paid by France Télécom for these pensions to be equivalent to those paid by its competitors. France and France Télécom (now Orange) appealed the decision. The GC dismissed both appeals and entirely upheld the findings of the Commission's 2011 decision.
    Read Court's press release >
    Read full France judgment >
    Read full Orange judgment >
    Read more about Commission's 2011 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.

© European Union, 2015. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

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