The European Commission welcomes the judgement by the EU Court of Justice in this preliminary reference procedure. The court confirmed that the request for a preliminary ruling is admissible and that the Interchange Fee Regulation (EU) 2015/751 applies to three party payment card schemes which issue cards with a co-branding partner or an agent. This interpretation guarantees a level playing field between three- and four-party payment card schemes and prevents circumvention of the caps on interchange fees when equivalent fees are charged.

The Commission has published its call for proposals for training national judges in competition law. The purpose is to co-finance projects aimed at improving the knowledge, application and interpretation of EU competition law and further developing legal linguistic skills. Priority topics include application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, State Aid, the Directive 2014/104 on antitrust damages actions, economic principles of competition law, competition law in regulated industries and development of legal linguistic skills. 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 16 April 2018.

The General Court annulled the Commission Decision of 15 October 2014 (T-216/15). The Commission will carefully examine the findings and reasoning of the judgement before deciding on the opportunity to file an appeal.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Schwarzkopf Europe Award Ceremony,
Berlin, 29 January 2018

"[..] I learned that as a young person, you have a valuable perspective. You’re not held back by the old ways of doing things. You can look further into the future. And we need that perspective today more than ever, as we make decisions that will shape the future of Europe. We need a discussion that reaches across the generations, so we can make the most of what we each have to offer."

Speech by Johannes Laitenberger,
Director-General for Competition,
GCLC Conference,
Brussels, 26 January 2018

"[Fairness is] a way to describe the rationale that underpins EU competition enforcement. It is a way to express the overall goals and benefits of EU competition policy in a more tangible manner. It is not meant as a self-sufficient, generic legal test to be applied in cases. And certainly, the very concept of 'fairness' excludes that it substitutes rigorous, fact-based analysis."

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
GCLC Annual Conference,
Brussels, 25 January 2018
"[..] That's the way we make Europe a fairer place. Not by tilting at windmills. But by sticking to our knitting."

The European Commission welcomes the judgment by the General Court upholding the Commission's 2014 decision requiring the Charleroi Airport operator to pay a sufficient concession fee to the public owner of the airport. This to ensure that the airport operator does not benefit from an undue advantage that would distort competition. The Court supported the Commission's conclusion that illegal aid was granted by the Walloon authorities through SOWAER, which had made large investments at the airport without requiring sufficient compensation from its licensed operator. The Commission’s 2014 decision found that a low concession fee charged by the public owner of an airport to a concessionaire operator may constitute State aid to the latter and, if such aid unduly distorts competition between airports, it can be declared incompatible with the internal market.

The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling in which the Court of Justice addressed several questions from the Italian Council of State concerning the interpretation of EU competition rules in the context of off-label prescription of a certain medicine. Off-label prescription is the use of a medicine to treat a condition for which the medicine is not specifically approved. The judgment clarifies how to define the relevant market in these circumstances and, for the first time, finds that companies providing misleading information about off-label medicines to third parties (not only authorities but also medical professionals and the general public) could infringe EU competition rules.
Court's press release

The Commission welcomes the Court's judgment, which rules that Greece has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty by not implementing the Commission decision of 21 February 2012. In particular, the Court found that Greece failed to take all the measures necessary to immediately and effectively recover the incompatible State aid in order to eliminate any distortions of competition caused by the aid.
The Court's ruling acknowledges the obligation of the Member States to maintain a healthy competition in the internal market. The Court also acknowledges the obligation of the Member States to implement recovery immediately and effectively in order to eliminate the distortion of competition in the internal market caused by the aid. The Commission will continue to offer its support to Greece so that Greece implements the Commission decision.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Mediafin New Year Event, Brussels, 17 January 2018
"Our future can't just be based on elegant schemes drawn up by the experts in an ivory tower. It has to be a future that Europeans want, and believe in."

The European Commission welcomes the judgment by the General Court confirming the Commission Decision of July 2015 ordering France to recover illegal State aid of around €1.4 billion from EDF. This judgment confirms the principle that all companies operating in Europe should pay their fair share of tax, regardless if they are publicly or privately owned. The Commission Decision concluded that France had given selective corporate income tax breaks to EDF. These were illegal under EU State aid rules because they had given the company a selective benefit, distorting competition in the internal energy market, where EDF is a key player. France already recovered the illegal aid.
See also: Court's press release

The next weekly e-News will be published on 12 January 2018.

The December issue of this publication covers the following cases:
M.7878 HeidelbergCement/Schwenk/Cemex Hungary/Cemex Croatia
M.8465 Vivendi/Telecom Italia
M.8401 J&J/Actelion

The European Court of Justice fully dismissed the appeal of Trioplast AB against the letter of DG BUDG charging late payment interest of € 674.033 on the (reduced) cartel fine. In case T-40/06, the Court had reduced Trioplast AB's cartel fine to € 2.73 million. Trioplast AB paid the (reduced) fine, but refused to pay late payment interests on that fine and appealed a letter of DG Budget claiming the payment of such interests.

The Commission takes note of these judgments of the European Court of Justice and will carefully analyse the judgment and its potential implications

Case documents:
Cases C-66/16 P to C-69/16 P (several appellants)
Case C-70/16 P Galicia & Retegal
Case C-81/16 P Spain

The Commission welcomes the court's judgment confirming its analysis concerning tax advantages unlawfully granted to the concessionaire of the Port of Piraeus, COSCO. The Commission took a decision in March 2015 finding that several tax advantages granted to COSCO were illegal State aid and ordered their recovery. The case was initiated by 3 complaints in 2009 and concerned several fiscal advantages that were granted by law to the concession holder of a part of the Port of Piraeus, Piraeus Container Terminal S.A. (PCT), subsidiary of COSCO PACIFIC LIMITED (COSCO). These advantages related to the initial concession granted in 2008. The recovery amounting to EUR 1.58 million has already taken place. Greece has also abolished by law the relevant legal provisions.

The European Commission welcomes the judgment of the Court of Justice confirming the Commission's 2013 decision that an agreement between Telefónica and Portugal Telecom not to compete with each other on Iberian telecommunications markets was illegal under EU antitrust rules. The judgment fully dismisses Telefónica's appeal of the June 2016 judgement of the General Court, which endorsed the Commission's decision. This is important because it confirms the Commission's established practice in applying Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to cases where the behaviour of economic operators restricts competition by its very nature (i.e. a "restriction by object"). In its June 2016 judgment, the General Court also ruled that for the purposes of calculating the fines the Commission has to determine once again the sales linked directly or indirectly to the infringement. The Commission is currently preparing a recalculation of the fines on this basis.

Speech by Johannes Laitenberger,
Director-General DG Competition
CRA Conference, 12/12/2017, Brussels

"Let us work with the presumption that accuracy and administrability go hand in hand. Accuracy without administrability is meaningless. Administrability without accuracy is pointless. So let us reconcile vigorous and rigorous antitrust. Let us reconcile speed and thoroughness."

The Commission welcomes today's preliminary ruling of the European Court of Justice concerning Coty Germany. The judgment provides more clarity and legal certainty to market participants that had been facing diverging views on the legality of their distribution practices. The judgment will also facilitate a uniform application of competition rules across the EU. Specifically, the Court confirmed the possibility for the luxury industry to operate certain selective distribution systems without infringing EU competition rules.

Speech by Commissioner Margrethe Vestager,
Committee of the Regions,
1 December 2017
Competition gives people a wider choice of products, at prices they can afford. It encourages our companies to innovate and invest. And if companies -big or small- play by the competition rules, it helps to ensure that our economy works--- for everyone.