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…

Jurisdiction after DB Station At the end of last year, the ECJ rendered a much-anticipated ruling in the DB Station case (C-721/10), which fundamentally clarified the hierarchy between regulators and civil courts in abuse of dominance cases relating to regulated infrastructure sectors. After lengthy national proceedings, the ECJ decided that national civil courts can only…

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 10 November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or the Court) delivered its judgment in another private enforcement case, interpreting Art. 5 of Directive 2014/104/EU (the Damages Directive or the Directive). It answered the preliminary question raised by a Spanish First Instance Commercial Court that the disclosure of information or documents which do…

Antitrust lawyers often work under time pressure when assessing the relevant thresholds to determine where a merger filing must be submitted. They usually keep the requests concerning turnover to a minimum, because turnover is generally attributed to where the customer is located. However, if the parties are not familiar with the geographic allocation rules under…