This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance. Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) prohibits dominant companies from engaging in abusive behaviour, […]Commission seeks feedback on draft antitrust Guidelines on exclusionary abuses
August 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance. Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) prohibits dominant companies from engaging in abusive behaviour, […]Commission carries out further unannounced antitrust inspections in tyres sector cartel investigation
June 18, 2024 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is carrying out unannounced inspections at the premises of a consultancy firm in two Member States. The Commission has concerns that the company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article 101 of the Treaty […]Antitrust: Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the online food delivery sector
November 21, 2023 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is carrying out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies active in the online ordering and delivery of food, groceries and other consumer goods in two Member States. The Commission has concerns that the companies concerned may have violated EU antitrust […]Commission fines pharma companies €13,4 million in antitrust cartel settlement
October 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has fined Alkaloids of Australia, Alkaloids Corporation, Boehringer, Linnea and Transo-Pharm a total of €13,4 million for participating in a cartel concerning an important pharmaceutical ingredient. C2 PHARMA was not fined as it revealed the cartel to the Commission under the […]Commission carries out unannounced antitrust inspections in the construction chemicals sector
October 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is carrying out unannounced antitrust inspections at the premises of companies active in the construction chemicals sector in several Member States. The Commission has concerns that the inspected companies may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business […]Antitrust: Commission re-imposes €376.36 million fine on Intel for anticompetitive practices in the market for computer chips
September 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has re-imposed a fine of around €376.36 million on Intel for a previously established abuse of dominant position in the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units (‘CPUs’). Intel engaged in a series of anticompetitive practices aimed at excluding […]Antitrust: Commission fines defence company €1.2 million in cartel settlement
September 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has fined defence company Diehl €1.2 million for participating in a cartel concerning the sale of military hand grenades together with its rival RUAG. Both companies admitted their involvement in the cartel and agreed to settle the case. RUAG was not […]Antitrust: Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the medical devices sector
September 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is carrying out unannounced inspections at the premises of a company active in medical devices for cardiovascular applications. The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit abuses of a dominant market position (Article […]Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers over distribution and licensing practices for clothing
August 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has informed Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers of its preliminary view that the companies may have breached EU antitrust rules by restricting cross-border sales of Pierre Cardin-licensed clothing, as well as sales of such products to specific customers. Pierre Cardin […]Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive practices by Microsoft regarding Teams
July 31, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Microsoft may have breached EU competition rules by tying or bundling its communication and collaboration product Teams to its popular suites for businesses Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Microsoft is a global technology […]Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive practices by Renfe in online rail ticketing
May 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Renfe may have abused its dominant position in the Spanish passenger rail transport market by refusing to supply all its content and real-time data to rival ticketing platforms. Renfe is the Spanish state-owned […]Antitrust: Commission prolongs Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation and updates the Supplementary Guidelines
April 18, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has prolonged the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER’) for five years, meaning that it will now be applicable until 31 May 2028. It has also updated the Supplementary Guidelines for the sector. The revised Guidelines will help companies in the […]Antitrust: Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the energy drinks sector
March 22, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. On 20 March 2023, the European Commission has started unannounced inspections at the premises of a company active in the energy drinks sector in various Member States. The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels […]Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections in the fragrance sector
March 8, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. On 7 March 2023, the European Commission carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies and an association active in the fragrance industry in various Member States. In parallel, the Commission has sent out formal requests for information to several companies active in […]Antitrust: Commission invites comments on draft Guidelines for sustainability agreements in agriculture
January 11, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission today launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft proposal for Guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in the field of agriculture (‘Guidelines’) using the novel exclusion from EU competition rules introduced during the recent […]Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Deutsche Bank and Rabobank over Euro-denominated bonds trading cartel case
December 7, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has informed Deutsche Bank and Rabobankof its preliminary view that they breached EU antitrust rules by colluding to distort competition when trading Euro-denominated Sovereign, SSA (Supra-Sovereign, Foreign Sovereign, Sub-Sovereign/Agency), Covered and Government Guaranteed bonds. The Commission has concerns that between 2005 […]Competition: Commission adopts a more flexible antitrust Informal Guidance Notice; withdraws Antitrust COVID Temporary Framework
October 4, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has today adopted a revised Informal Guidance Notice that allows businesses to seek informal guidance on the application of EU competition rules to novel or unresolved questions. The revised Informal Guidance Notice provides for more flexible conditions and aims at increasing […]Antitrust: Commission adopts Guidelines on collective agreements by solo self-employed people
September 30, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has adopted today its Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements(‘Guidelines’) regarding the working conditions of solo self-employed people.The Guidelines clarify when certain self-employed people can get together to negotiate collectively better working conditions without breaching EU […]Antitrust: Commission publishes market study on hotels’ distribution practices
August 29, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission published today the results of an external market study on the distribution practices of hotels in the EU. The market study was conducted in 2021 and covers the period between 2017 and 2021. It focused on a representative sample of six […]Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on performance of exemption for liner shipping consortia
August 10, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has launched today a call for evidence inviting feedback on the performance of the EU legal framework which exempts liner shipping consortia from EU antitrust rules (Consortia Block Exemption Regulation or ‘CBER’). Today, the Commission has also sent targeted questionnaires to […]Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Amazon concerning marketplace seller data and access to Buy Box and Prime
July 14, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission invites comments on commitments offered by Amazon to address competition concerns over its use of non-public marketplace seller data and over a possible bias in granting sellers access to its Buy Box and its Prime programme. The Commission’s investigations Amazon is […]Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive disparagement by Vifor Pharma of iron medicine
June 21, 2022 by 2 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Vifor Pharma has restricted competition by illegally disparaging its closest – and potentially only – competitor in Europe on the market for intravenous iron treatment, Pharmacosmos. Vifor Pharma’s conduct appears to be […]Antitrust: Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the water infrastructure sector over alleged bid-rigging
June 15, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is conducting unannounced inspections in a Member State at the premises of companies active in the construction of networks and treatment plants for drinking water and wastewater. The Commission has concerns that certain companies may have violated EU antitrust rules that […]Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by Google and Meta, in online display advertising
March 11, 2022 by 1 Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether an agreement between Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for online display advertising services may have breached EU competition rules. Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: ”Many publishers rely […]Antitrust: Commission seeks feedback on commitments offered by Insurance Ireland concerning access to its data sharing platform
February 25, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission invites comments on commitments offered by Insurance Ireland, an association of Irish insurers, to address competition concerns regarding access to its Insurance Link information exchange system. On 14 May 2019, the Commission opened a formal investigation into Insurance Ireland’s conduct. In […]Antitrust: Commission publishes final report on consumer Internet of Things sector inquiry
January 21, 2022 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has published today the findings of its competition sector inquiry into the consumer Internet of Things (IoT). The final report and its accompanying staff working document identify potential competition concerns in the rapidly growing markets for IoT related products and services […]Antitrust: Commission fines UBS, Barclays, RBS, HSBC and Credit Suisse € 344 million for participating in a Foreign Exchange spot trading cartel
December 2, 2021 by 8 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has completed its cartel investigation into the Foreign Exchange (‘Forex’) spot trading market by imposing fines on five banks. The Commission has adopted today a decision imposing a total fine of € 261 million on the four banks that decided to […]Antitrust: Commission carries out unannounced inspections in the defence sector
November 24, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. On 23 November 2021, the European Commission is conducting unannounced inspections at the premises of a company active in the defence sector. The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices (Article […]Antitrust: Commission invites interested parties to provide comments on draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and Vertical Guidelines
July 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on the draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”) and Vertical Guidelines. The draft revised VBER and Vertical Guidelines follow a thorough review process launched in October 2018. This […]Antitrust: Commission fines car manufacturers €875 million for restricting competition in emission cleaning for new diesel passenger cars
July 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has found that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen group (Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche) breached EU antitrust rules by colluding on technical development in the area of nitrogen oxide cleaning. The Commission has imposed a fine of € 875 189 000. Daimler was […]Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive conduct by Google in the online advertising technology sector
June 23, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Google has violated EU competition rules by favouring its own online display advertising technology services in the so called “ad tech” supply chain, to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology […]Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Insurance Ireland for restricting access to a data sharing platform
June 18, 2021 by Leave a Comment
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission has informed Insurance Ireland, an association of Irish insurers, of its preliminary view that it breached EU antitrust rules by restricting competition in the Irish motor vehicle insurance market. The Commission takes issue with certain conditions of access to the Insurance Link […]Antitrust: Commission publishes initial findings of consumer Internet of Things sector inquiry
June 9, 2021 by 3 Comments
This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has published today the preliminary results of its competition sector inquiry into markets for consumer Internet of Things (IoT) related products and services in the European Union. The Preliminary Report confirms the rapid growth of these markets, but also identifies potential […]
