National competition authorities (NCAs)

Abuse of dominance, As Efficient Competitor, Economics, European Court of Justice, European Union, Exclusive dealing, Italy, National competition authorities (NCAs), National court, References for a preliminary ruling

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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…

Anticompetitive agreements, Information exchange, National competition authorities (NCAs), Norway

, , (Advokatfirmaet Haavind AS)/ /Leave a comment

Exchanging information with competitors can be a minefield. On 29 November 2022, the Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) fined Norway’s four largest book publishers and a database provider a total of NOK 545 million (approximately EUR 52 million) in a unique hub-and-spoke information exchange case. This is only one of several information exchange cases being pursued…

Abuse of dominance, Belgium, Digital Markets Act, Ex post regulatory assessment, Killer acquisitions, Merger notification, Merger regulation, Mergers, National competition authorities (NCAs)

(Leiden University)/ /1 Comment

The impressive acceleration in mergers and acquisitions, combined with the promotion of disruptive business strategies, has put the ‘regulatory gap’[1] paradox at the heart of the current European merger control policy debate. While the current EU merger control regime risks fragmentation with the advent of the new Guidance on Referral Mechanism and the Digital Markets…

Abuse of dominance, Interim measures, National competition authorities (NCAs), Patent settlements, Spain

(Universidad CEU San Pablo)/ /Leave a comment

On 21 October 2022 the Spanish CNMC imposed a fine of 38.9 million EUR on MERCK SHARP & DOHME DE ESPAÑA, S.A. and its parent company MSD HUMAN HEALTH HOLDING, B.V. (hereafter jointly ‘MSD’) for abusive practices in the Spanish market of contraceptive rings. Their breach consisted in having made baseless court claims with the…

Anticompetitive agreements, European Commission, Exemptions, Guidelines, Horizontal, National competition authorities (NCAs), Netherlands, Sustainability

(Bird & Bird, Netherlands) and , (Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

Sustainability as a policy priority It is no news that sustainability is an important topic of competition policy across the EU. There is clear consensus that competition law enforcement should be careful not to hinder cooperation between companies, even competitors, that facilitates the realisation of or progress towards reaching sustainability goals of climate policy (or…

Abuse of dominance, Amazon, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, European Union, National competition authorities (NCAs), Ne bis in idem

(University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The final text of the DMA, after the Council’s final approval last 18th July, opened up, yet again, speculation on its enforcement. Although the Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton promptly confirmed that DG Connect would be the Directorate to apply and oversee the compliance of the DMA’s rules and obligations, several questions still…

Collective Redress, Damages, Disclosure, Effects-based, Enforcement, European Union, Evidence, Fair Fund, International Law Talk, Leniency, Liability, National competition authorities (NCAs), Podcast, Private actions, Private enforcement, Procedures, Standard of Proof

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

Two Germans meet in Graz to discuss private enforcement of competition law in the EU. Tune in for the first in-person interview of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast. On a warm summer day in June, I interviewed Thomas Thiede on our favorite topic: private enforcement of competition law and its newest…

Competition proceedings, European Court of Justice, National competition authorities (NCAs), Ne bis in idem

(University of Göttingen, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

In its judgment of 25 February 2021 in the case of Slovak Telekom, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reaffirmed its jurisprudence on the ne bis in idem rule and clarifies its relationship and functioning with art. 11 (6) of Regulation 1/2003. Judging from the facts as they are presented in the ECJ’s ruling, the…

Algorithms, Investigations, National competition authorities (NCAs), Netherlands

(Loyens & Loeff, Netherlands) and , (Loyens & Loeff)/ /Leave a comment

On 10 December 2020, the Dutch Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) announced that it has launched a pilot investigation into the role of algorithms in commercial interactions between market players and the impact on market behaviour these algorithms may have. The ACM intends to put this knowledge to use in order to inform market…

Anticompetitive agreements, Competition enforcement, European Court of Justice, France, National competition authorities (NCAs), Public procurement

, (Latham & Watkins LLP)/ /1 Comment

On 25 November 2020, the French Competition Authority (FCA) announced that it was amending its decision-making practice regarding responses to calls for tenders by subsidiaries of the same group. Up until now, the FCA considered that it was unlawful for subsidiaries of the same group to submit separate tenders in the same public procurement procedure…