Antitrust authorities around the globe are debating how best to assess sustainability agreements, i.e., agreements to achieve environmental objectives. In the space of a few months in 2023, three leading regulators – the EU Commission, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets, and the UK Competition and Markets Authority adopted guidance on the antitrust assessment…
Introduction On February 21, 2020, the European Commission (EC), in the context of Case AT.40528 – Holiday Pricing, ordered Meliá Hotels International, S.A. to pay a fine in the total amount of EUR 6 678 000. The European Commission found that Meliá Hotels International, S.A. participated in a single and continuous infringement of Article 101…
In October 2023, Advocate General Rantos delivered his opinion in the context of a preliminary ruling request from Portuguese courts on whether an exchange of information between competitors can constitute a restriction of competition by “object” in breach of Article 101(1) of the TFEU. In practice, such classification relieves a competition authority from the obligation…
More than three years after it published the first draft guidelines on sustainability agreements, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) adopted a final policy rule titled ‘ACM’s oversight of sustainability agreements’ (Policy Rule). The Policy Rule aims at providing insight into how the ACM applies competition rules to sustainability agreements and how the…
On 12 July 2023, the Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) issued its decision in the case S/0013/21 – Amazon/Apple Brandgating (the Decision) imposing a fine of €143.6 million on Apple and Amazon for restricting inter and intra-brand competition in the sale of Apple products on the Spanish Amazon marketplace contrary to Articles 1…
Introduction One of the biggest controversies in European football right now is the fight between UEFA, Europe’s continental football association, and the European Super League (ESL), a proposed breakaway league composed of some of the biggest clubs and commercial names in the sport; a case arising out of the dispute recently reached the European Court…
On 24 July 2023, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issued a very relevant award in case CAS 2023/O/9370 Professional Football Agents Association (PROFAA) v. FIFA (the Award), in which it examined various claims of illegality of the new FIFA Football Agents Regulations (FFAR) under several areas of law, most importantly those under EU…
Sport itself is all about the competition on the pitch. However, sports federations’ actions and regulations have come increasingly into the focus of competition watchdogs and courts worldwide. A well-known example is the dispute over the establishment of the European Super League. As the recently announced merger between golf associations PGA and L.I.V. demonstrates, competition…
Introduction Three weeks ago, the Spanish Supreme Court delivered its first rulings on damages claims in the trucks cartel. Given that Spanish courts have been the most active in the EU on this case (see the stream of judgments issued by the Courts of Appeal in Figure 1, 85% are available at CENDOJ), there was…
The European Commission (“EC”) has published its final revised Horizontal Cooperation Guidelines and adopted new R&D and Specialisation Block Exemption Regulations (HBERs). The EC’s aim is to provide more guidance for competitors wishing to cooperate in areas such as R&D and production, but also in sustainability initiatives. What are the EU rules on horizontal…
