Competition weekly news summary
19 June 2015


Conferences and speeches

  • Independence is non-negotiable
    Chatham House Competition Policy Conference, London, Margrethe Vestager
    18 June 2015
    "Since 2010, 195 companies have been involved in our cartel decisions; 120 of these were from the EU and 75 from other parts of the world. When going through the statistics in all areas of our activity, it is clear that Commission enforcement is based on the facts and evidence of individual cases. The nationality of the companies involved and any other spurious consideration play no part in it."
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  • The State of the Union: Antitrust in the EU in 2015-2016
    Concurrences’ New Frontiers of Antitrust, Paris, Margrethe Vestager
    15 June 2015
    "We need to make sure that firms invest in our future. And when do firms invest? Above all, they invest in order to out compete their rivals. [...] In other words, they need to innovate to stay ahead of the game. We all know the old saying that necessity is the mother of invention. My key point is that competitive markets create that necessity."
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Antitrust

  • Commission fines parking heaters producer €68 million in cartel settlement
    17 June 2015
    The Commission has found that two German producers of automotive parts, Eberspächer and Webasto, have breached EU antitrust rules prohibiting cartels and restrictive business practices. They coordinated prices and allocated customers with regards to fuel-operated parking heaters, which heat parked cars or trucks, and auxiliary heaters, which support the heating system of a running car or truck. The Commission imposed a fine of € 68 175 000 on Eberspächer for its involvement in the cartel. This fine was reduced under the Commission's leniency programme to reflect Eberspächer's cooperation with the investigation. Webasto was not fined because it benefited from immunity for revealing the existence of the cartel to the Commission. Both companies agreed to settle the case with the Commission, so that Eberspächer's fine was reduced by a further 10%.
    Read more >
  • Commission market tests commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) concerning Bulgarian wholesale electricity market
    19 June 2015
    The Commission is inviting comments from interested parties on commitments offered by the State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD (BEH) to address certain competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission has concerns that BEH may have hindered the resale of electricity on the non-regulated wholesale market in Bulgaria by imposing territorial restrictions on traders, in breach of EU antitrust rules. To address the Commission's concerns, BEH has offered to set up an independent power exchange in Bulgaria and to ensure the liquidity of the day-ahead market on that exchange. If the market test confirms that the commitments are suitable to address the Commission's competition concerns, the Commission may make the commitments legally binding on BEH.
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  • Maritime summit between Commission, US and China boosts cooperation
    18 June 2015
    Representatives from the maritime regulatory authorities of the European Union, the People’s Republic of China and the United States met in Brussels to discuss antitrust and regulatory issues in maritime transport. The delegates confirmed their renewed intention to cooperate on these matters. Hosted by the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition, this was the second official meeting between the three authorities, following the first maritime regulatory summit that took place in Washington in December 2013.
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Mergers

  • Commission approves joint venture for cross-border licensing of online music between PRSfM, STIM and GEMA, subject to commitments
    16 June 2015
    The Commission has approved the proposed creation of a joint venture for multi-territorial online music licensing and copyright administration services by three music collecting societies: PRS for Music Limited ("PRSfM") of the UK, Föreningen Svenska Tonsättares Internationella Musikbyrå u.p.a. ("STIM") of Sweden and Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte ("GEMA") of Germany. The approval is conditional upon the implementation of a commitments package that will enable other players to compete with the joint venture in the provision of copyright administration services. The Commission had concerns that the creation of the joint venture would make it more difficult for other collecting societies to offer copyright administration services by raising the barriers to entry and growth in this market. The commitments offered by the companies address these concerns.
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  • Commission approves acquisition of Sigma-Aldrich by Merck, subject to conditions
    15 June 2015
    The Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of life science company Sigma-Aldrich by rival Merck. The decision is conditional on the divestment of certain Sigma-Aldrich assets, including manufacturing assets in Germany, the rights to certain brands and a sales force. The Commission had concerns that the merged entity would have faced insufficient competitive pressure from the remaining players in the markets for certain laboratory chemicals, with a risk of price rises. The commitments offered by the companies address these concerns.
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State aid

  • Commission approves € 3 billion aid scheme in Germany to support high speed internet roll-out
    15 June 2015
    The Commission has concluded that the main elements of Germany's plans to support the roll out of next generation access (NGA) broadband networks were in line with EU state aid rules. The € 3 billion scheme aims at providing high speed internet access throughout the country, including in rural areas. This will favour economic, social and cultural integration. The Commission found that the scheme furthers the objectives of the EU Digital Strategy without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market.
    Read more >

Competition

  • New policy brief on ex post evaluation of competition policy enforcement
    15 June 2015
    Go to policy brief >

    Court

    • Case C-583/13 P Deutsche Bahn
      18 June 2015
      The EU Court of Justice ruled on Deutsche Bahn's appeal against a General Court judgment of September 2013. The GC had dismissed Deutsche Bahn's actions for annulment of three Commission decisions of 2011 ordering inspections at the premises of Deutsche Bahn. The EUCJ partly set aside the earlier ruling and annulled the Commission's second and third inspection decisions.
      Go to EUCJ judgment >
      Go to GC judgment under appeal >
    • Case T-566/11 Bananas cartel
      16 June 2015
      The EU General Court ruled on an action by Pacific for the annulment of a Commission decision of October 2011 fining Pacific for its participation in a cartel on the market for Bananas in Southern Europe. The GC held in particular that the Commission was right to find that Pacific's behaviour had the object of restricting competition. The GC also confirmed that the Commission can use documents received from national authorities other than competition authorities, even when those documents are collected for other purposes than antitrust investigations. The GC reduced Pacific's fine by €2.2 million because there was insufficient evidence to establish the cartel behaviour during some five months.
      Go to 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.

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