The contested decision With decision No. 30086 of 29th March 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) imposed a fine of more than 3.7 million euros on Caronte & Tourist S.p.A. (CT) for excessive pricing in the market for Strait of Messina’s ferry services for passengers with vehicles, where it holds a dominant position. The legal…

The year 2022 in Italy witnessed a major update of national competition law and new powers for the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”). These developments are summarized below, together with a report of the ICA’s practice in antitrust and merger control, and an account of the activity of Italian courts, both at the national level and…

Facts and court proceedings Before the start of the liberalization process in 1999 with Legislative Decree 79/1999 (“Decreto Bersani”), the Italian electricity market was run singlehandedly by the Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica (Enel), born with the nationalization of electricity in 1962. As the former Italian legal monopolist, Enel was integrated into all stages of the…

On 19 January 2023, the EU Court of Justice, answering questions from the Italian Council of State, confirmed that the Intel effects-based approach applies also to exclusive dealing practices and held that competition authorities must duly examine economic evidence produced by dominant undertakings. The court also held that, under certain narrow circumstances, conduct implemented by…

On August 5, 2022, the Italian Parliament adopted the 2021 Annual Law for Market and Competition (the “2021 Competition Law”), [1] the aim of which is to adapt the Italian system to EU competition rules and policies and to improve and liberalize markets affected by regulatory or economic barriers. The law reflects most of the…

In 2021, next to the activity of the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) and of the courts, the Italian legislator looked into competition law as a tool to unleash economic growth against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.   A “competitive” Recovery and Resilience Plan In the opening speech of his government, Prime Minister Mario…

When we earlier reported the German Facebook proceedings in terms of a legal opera [Link], this metaphor was, as I am afraid we have to admit, a little ill-fitting. As things now seem, we can observe a whole oeuvre, a whole cinematic universe, as a good number of spin-offs, sequels and side-stories centred around Facebook…

The Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) and Italian courts – and also the Italian legislator – have been quite active in 2020, despite the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.   Covid-19 Covid-19 was of course one of the main factors driving competition law and policy developments in Italy in 2020, bringing to light existing trends…

Competition authorities are increasingly scrutinizing Google around the globe: The European Commission was the first authority to investigate Google and has issued three record-level fines in Google Shopping, Google Android and Google AdSense. In the US, the DoJ has recently filed a complaint against Google with the US Supreme Court arguing that Google abuses its…

The Italian Competition Authority started the New Year with a bang by imposing a fine of more than EUR 10 million on Pfizer for alleged abuses of the patent system in violation of Article 102 TFEU. The decision is available here. The Authority’s decision goes considerably further than the General Court’s AstraZeneca judgment in qualifying…