The European Commission has prohibited the proposed takeover of Cemex Croatia by HeidelbergCement and Schwenk under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission had strong concerns that the takeover would have significantly reduced competition in grey cement markets and increased prices in Croatia.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the alternative package proposed by the UK authorities is an appropriate replacement for the commitment for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to divest Williams & Glyn, required as part of its restructuring plan.

The European Commission has prohibited the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse AG and London Stock Exchange Group under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission's investigation concluded the merger would have created a de facto monopoly in the markets for clearing fixed income instruments.

The European Commission has found support to be granted to the 600 MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm in Danish territorial waters to be in line with EU state aid rules. It will help Denmark to reduce CO2 emissions, in line with EU energy and climate goals, without unduly distorting competition.

The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed merger between US-based chemical companies Dow and DuPont. The approval is conditional in particular on the divestiture of major parts of DuPont's global pesticide business, including its global R&D organisation.

The European Commission has proposed new rules to enable Member States' competition authorities to be more effective enforcers of EU antitrust rules. The proposal seeks to make sure they have all the tools they require to achieve this.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, ECON Committee of the European Parliament, 22 March 2017
"We have a responsibility to help national authorities to do their part to protect competition.
That’s why we’ve been working with Member States, jointly and individually, on partnerships to help them make sure that the state aid they give doesn’t undermine competition.
And it’s also the reason for the proposal we adopted today, to make sure national competition authorities have effective powers."

The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of LM Wind Power of Denmark, by General Electric Company of the US. The Commission concluded that the merged entity would continue to face effective competition in Europe.

The European Commission has re-adopted a cartel decision against 11 air cargo carriers and imposed a fine totalling € 776 465 000 for operating a price–fixing cartel. The Commission's original decision was annulled by the General Court on procedural grounds.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager at
Bundeskartellamt 18th Conference on Competition, Berlin, 16 March 2017

"The concept of “data protection by design” makes clear that people’s privacy can never be an afterthought. It has to be built into the way that services work from the very start.
That's also how businesses need to think when they design and use algorithms.
They may not always know exactly how an automated system will use its algorithms to take decisions. What businesses can – and must – do is to ensure antitrust compliance by design."

A new tool to make it easier for individuals to alert the Commission about secret cartels and other antitrust violations while maintaining their anonymity has been launched by the European Commission today.

The 2016 State Aid Scoreboard, published today by the European Commission, shows the benefits of the State Aid Modernisation package taking place. Around 95% of new implemented aid measures fell under the new General Block Exemption Regulation and could be implemented without prior Commission approval.

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, support in the form of reductions of the octroi de mer tax to the benefit of locally produced products in the French outermost regions.

The European Commission invites comments from all interested parties on commitments submitted by Gazprom to address the Commission's competition concerns as regards gas markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The commitments will enable cross-border gas flows at competitive prices.

The European Commission has cleared unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa by Siemens. The Commission found that the transaction raises no competition concerns, because a number of credible competitors would remain in the market.

The European Commission has found Portugal's plans to strengthen the capital position of fully state-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) by €3.9 billion are in line with EU state aid rules. The measures are carried out on market terms and therefore involve no new aid in favour of the bank.

The European Commission has fined Behr, Calsonic, Denso, Panasonic, Sanden and Valeo a total of € 155 million for taking part in one or more of four cartels concerning supplies of air conditioning and engine cooling components to car manufacturers in the European Economic Area (EEA). All six suppliers acknowledged their involvement in the cartels and agreed to settle the case. Denso was not fined for three of the cartels as it revealed their existence to the Commission. Panasonic was not fined for one of the cartels as it revealed its existence to the Commission.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Wednesday Social, Brussels
"[O]nce the spirit of equality has taken root in a society, it can never be removed unless it withers away.
The women of the world understand that, and they won't give up the rights they've won. And I think that can be an inspiration for us all."

The European Commission has approved a Czech support scheme for electricity generation from high-efficiency combined heat and power plants under EU state aid rules. The Commission concluded the measure would support EU energy and climate change goals without unduly distorting competition.

The European Commission has concluded that Hungary's financial support for the construction of two new nuclear reactors in Paks (Paks II) involves state aid. It has approved this support under EU state aid rules on the basis of commitments made by Hungary to limit distortions of competition.