The Commission welcomes the judgment, by which the Court of Justice ruled that EU law precludes a national court from assessing whether a “condition necessary for the attainment of the objective and functioning of an aid scheme” complies with the free movement of capital.

The Commission welcomes the judgment which confirms the State aid analysis made by the Commission and the way it handled the cooperation procedure. The General Court confirmed that port authorities are carrying out economic activities and are thus subject to State aid rules. It also confirmed that a corporate tax exemption for ports is incompatible State aid which distorts competition in the internal market.

The Commission welcomes the judgment which confirms the State aid analysis made by the Commission and the way it handled the cooperation procedure. The General Court confirmed that port authorities are carrying out economic activities and are thus subject to State aid rules. It also confirmed that a corporate tax exemption for ports is incompatible State aid which distorts competition in the internal market.

The Commission welcomes the Court of Justice’s judgment in Cogeco, which clarifies a number of important aspects of the right to compensation for damages suffered because of an infringement of EU competition law before the transposition of the Damages Directive.

The Commission takes note of the ruling of the General Court and the fine reduction decided by the General Court. The judgment fully confirms the Commission findings on Pometon’s participation in the steel abrasives cartel.

The Commission takes note of the judgment by the European Court of Justice, which sets aside the judgment by the General Court of May 2016 and annuls the Commission decision of November 2014. In its 2014 decision, the Commission found that German law on renewable energy of 2012 (the EEG 2012) involved State aid, while approving it in almost its entirety under EU State aid rules. The Commission will carefully assess the judgment. The current version of the EEG is based on different financing than the EEG 2012. Whether the ruling has any impact on the State aid assessment of the current version of the EEG requires further assessment. With respect to the annulled decision on EEG 2012, the recovery orders have lost their legal basis.

Important information about the legal aspects of the brexit as regards antitrust and merger.

Statement by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and DirectorGeneral Johannes Laitenberger on the passing away of Frans Andriessen – Commissioner for Competition, 1981-1985

The Commission welcomes the European Court of Justice’s judgment confirming the General Court’s order dismissing the appeal by Eco-Bat Technologies against the Commission’s decision in the car battery recycling sector (Case T-361/17). The judgment also confirms the General Court’s ruling regarding the period for bringing an action against a Commission decision.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Anna Lindh Lecture,
Lund, 18 March 2019
"[..] The freedom which the Internet has given us is truly the great achievement of our times. But we have to understand that the idea of a totally free and equal Internet, where power is irrelevant, is nothing more than a dangerous myth."

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Bundeskartellamt 19th Conference on Competition,
Berlin,
14 March 2019

"These are challenging times. [..] the answer is not to lose faith in the choices we made, sixty years ago [..] If Europe has the confidence to go on doing what we’re best at – in a way that’s adjusted to the demands of the modern world – then we have an even brighter future ahead of us."

The Shaping Competition conference did not end in the afternoon of January 17. The next day, we launched a Student Challenge. University students with an interest in things competition were invited to answer this question: “What would you have talked about if you had been a speaker at the conference?” Eighty students from across the world took up the challenge; the twelve best abstracts were shortlisted by expert colleagues; and close to 2,000 people voted via our website to pick the four winners, one four each conference panel.
The prize for the winners – Guillaume Thébaudin, Rossi Abi-Rafeh, Oriane Limouzin and David Pérez de Lamo – was a day in Brussels to receive their awards from Commissioner Vestager and have a taste of DG Competition.

In this preliminary ruling, the Court ruled in conformity with the Commission’s position on all important points. The Commission therefore welcomes the clarification, which confirms important principles for an effective application of the GBER that is a centrepiece of the modernized state aid system.

The European Commission has published a report showing that active competition law enforcement, at EU and national level, in the pharmaceutical sector contributes to delivering more affordable medicines and more choice to patients and healthcare systems, and promotes further innovation.

The winners of our #EUcompdigit Student Challenge are
Guillaume Thébaudin (Panel 1)
Rossi Abi-Rafeh (Panel 2)
Oriane Limouzin (Panel 3)
David Pérez de Lamo (Panel 4)
They will meet Commissioner @vestager in Brussels!
Big thanks to everyone who took part and voted

The European Commission can confirm that on 19 February 2019 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in several Member States at the premises of several companies in the sector of farmed Atlantic salmon.

The Shaping Competition Policy in the Era of Digitisation conference did not end on January 17. Students have been invited to take part in a Student Challenge. The question was: What would you have talked about if you had sat in one of the four panels? Twelve entries have been shortlisted and have been published.
Now it’s your turn.
The four winners will be chosen by popular vote. Read the texts and vote for your favourite entry in each panel category. Anyone can vote. You have until 21 February to choose the four winning students who will will meet Commissioner Vestager in Brussels.
Spread the word and follow @EU_Competition on Twitter for updates, with our conference hashtag #EUcompdigit. The more, the merrier.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
EU Industry Days,
6 February 2019
"We need an industrial strategy not for the few—but for all of Europe."

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Mackenzie Stuart Lecture, Cambridge,
4 February 2019
"[..] Data can do great things for us - but we can’t buy those benefits at the expense of our values. We can’t trade our freedom for better maps, or our democracy for a better social media algorithm. We have a lot to gain from data – but we need to make sure that we use it in a way that is really good for society."

The Commission has published its call for proposals for training national judges in EU competition law. The purpose is to co-finance projects aimed at improving the knowledge, application and interpretation of EU competition law. Priority topics include the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, the Directive 2014/104 on antitrust damages actions, economic principles of competition law, state aid, competition law in regulated industries and digital markets. Preference will be given to projects offering training courses with consecutive levels, complementarity or an innovative approach compared to existing offers, and projects addressing judges from several member states in their training courses, thus encouraging cross-border networking.
The deadline for applications is 15 April 2019