European Commission

Abuse of dominance, European Commission

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On 20 September 2016, the European Commission (“Commission”) issued its first settlement decision under Article 102 TFEU following the introduction of Regulation 1/2003 and reduced the fine of Altstoff Recycling Austria (“ARA“) by 30% in exchange for its cooperation. ARA’s fine was thus reduced to €6 million. In addition to the press release, the Commission…

European Commission, Mergers

(RBB Economics)/ /Leave a comment

Following the Commission decision in the GE/Alstom case, members of the Chief Economist Team have, on a number of occasions, publicly commented on the bidding analysis undertaken in this case. During these interventions, they have signalled that the analysis undertaken in GE/Alstom represents an important framework for the future competitive assessment of mergers involving bidding…

European Commission, State aid

(Sidley Austin LLP)/ /1 Comment

On 19 May 2016, the Commission released its Notice on the notion of state aid. The aim of this Notice is to provide legal certainty by clarifying the key concepts relating to the notion of state aid. Ironically, many argue that the Commission has stretched this notion in the tax ruling cases, harming the same…

European Commission

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Since its entry into force in May 2004, the commitments procedure under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 has become the most prevalent enforcement mechanism used by the European Commission to address infringements of Article 102 and 101 TFEU (other than cartels). According to some statistics, more than 90% of non-cartel cases in the period between…

European Commission, Mergers

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Introduction In October 2015, following a phase II investigation, the European Commission published its decision to approve a JV between three of the largest collective management organisations (CMOs) in Europe, PRSfM (UK), GEMA (Germany) and STIM (Sweden).[1]M.6800-PRSfM/ STIM/ GEMA/ JV. As in other recent music industry mergers, the Commission investigated whether the combination of the…

Competition, European Commission

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81th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Center Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM The ECN+ Initiative: Outcome and Challenges of the Commission Consultation on the Empowering of NCAs with Eddy DE SMIJTER, DG COMP Guido LOBRANO, Business Europe Alf-Henrik BISCHKE, Hengeler Mueller Moderator: Jacques Bourgeois, Sidley Austin LLP Programme:…

European Commission, Geoblocking

(Baker & McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

Co-authored by Bill Batchelor & Tom Jenkins, Baker & McKenzie   1.            Summary On 18 March 2016, the European Commission published an initial “Issues paper” on geo-blocking in the EU.  The paper is part of the Commission’s ongoing e-commerce sector inquiry examining whether suppliers impose illegal territorial restrictions on retailers’ online activities. The Issues Paper…

Enforcement, European Commission

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80th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Center Monday, April 4, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EU Competition Law Enforcement and the Legacy of Ordo-liberalism: Myths and Realities with Christian Ahlborn, Linklaters Pierre Larouche, Tilburg University Vincent Verouden, E.CA Economics Moderator: Damien Gerard, GCLC Programme: 12:00 – 12:30: Sandwich lunch and socializing…

European Commission, Mergers, Unilateral effects

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79th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Center Monday, March 14, 2016 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Assessing unilateral effects in horizontal mergers: closeness of competition and the role of bidding data with Daniel Coublucq, DG COMP Sascha Schubert, Freshfields David Spector, MAPP Economics Moderator: Damien Gerard, GCLC Programme: 12:00 – 12:30: Sandwich…