DG COMPETITION will celebrate twenty years of EU antitrust enforcement under Regulation 1/2003 with a conference that will bring together leading experts to discuss and reflect on the achievements, needs and challenges of the current antitrust procedural framework.
Attendees will have the opportunity to hear insights and reflections from keynote speakers including enforcers, private practitioners, in-house counsels and academics, and participate in panel discussions.

The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the advertising technology industry (‘adtech'). The Commission takes issue with Google favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers.
See also

• Remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the Statement of Objections sent to Google over practices in the online advertising technology industry
• COMP Flash – Alberto Bacchiega presents the Statement of Objections to Google over abusive practices in online AdTech.

The European Commission has today adopted revised Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations on Research and Development (‘R&D') and Specialisation agreements (‘HBERs'), accompanied by revised Horizontal Guidelines, following a thorough evaluation and review of the current rules. The revised HBERs and Guidelines provide businesses with clearer and up-to-date guidance to help them assess the compatibility of their horizontal cooperation agreements with EU competition rules. The new HBERs will enter into force on 1 July 2023, while the Guidelines will do so following their publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
See also FAQs on adoption of the new Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations and Horizontal Guidelines.

The Commission takes note of the judgments of the General Court. In its judgments, the General Court dismissed Meta’s applications against a 2020 Commission’s decisions under Article 18(3) and Article 24(1)(d) of Regulation 1/2003. In its decisions, the Commission respectively (i) requested access to information relevant for its investigation; and (ii) imposed period penalty payments on Meta to compel it to supply the requested information.
In its judgments, the General Court fully upheld the Commission’s assessment and decisions. In particular, the General Court confirmed that the decisions (i) did not go beyond the Commission’s powers under Regulation 1/2003 since the information requested was relevant and necessary to the investigation; and (ii) did not limit Meta’s rights of defence nor breach the fundamental right to privacy and the principles of proportionality and good administration. In addition, the General Court found that the Commission had adequately stated the reasons on which the decisions were based, in accordance with Article 296 TFEU.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Renfe may have abused its dominant position in the Spanish passenger rail transport market by refusing to supply all its content and real-time data to rival ticketing platforms.

The Court declared inadmissible the request for a preliminary ruling from the Italian Council of State. Among other reasons, the judgment estates that the referring court provided no reference to the constituent elements of a dominant position for the purposes of Article 102 TFEU in the context of the main proceedings

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissing Amazon’s further appeal against a 2019 Commission’s decision to open a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Amazon's use of sensitive data from independent retailers who sell on its marketplace is in breach of EU competition rules.
The Court confirmed the General Court’s order that found that the decisions by which the Commission initiates proceedings under Article 102 TFEU cannot be challenged separately from the final decision on the case by way of an action for annulment before the Union courts.
The judgment thereby confirms the principle of work-sharing within the European Competition Network. In particular, that the Commission and national competition authorities can conduct their own separate proceedings against the same undertakings if there is no overlap in the scope of their respective investigations. Furthermore, the Court confirmed that there is no right for an undertaking to have a case dealt with in its entirety by the Commission.

The European Commission has prolonged the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER') for five years, meaning that it will now be applicable until 31 May 2028. It has also updated the Supplementary Guidelines for the sector. The revised Guidelines will help companies in the automotive sector assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with EU competition rules, while ensuring that aftermarket operators, including garages, continue to have access to vehicle-generated data necessary for repair and maintenance.

The purpose of the evaluation is to gather evidence on the functioning of the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (‘TTBER’) and the Technology Transfer Guidelines (‘Guidelines’), to help the Commission to decide whether it should let that Regulation expire, prolong its duration or prepare a revised Regulation and related guidelines.
In particular, the online questionnaire seeks specific feedback from stakeholders on the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, coherence and EU added value of the TTBER  and the related Guidelines.

The European Commission has launched a Call for Evidence seeking feedback on the adoption of Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance. In parallel, it has published a Communication (and Annex) amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities concerning exclusionary abuses.

The Commission is committed to an effects- based enforcement of Article 102 TFEU, which fully takes into account the dynamic nature of competition and constitutes a workable basis for vigorous enforcement. On 27 March 2023, the Commission adopted a package of two initiatives, namely a Call for Evidence launching the process to adopt guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance and a Communication amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities. This Policy Brief explains the background to these initiatives.

The initiative aims to increase legal certainty for the application of Article 102 TFEU on the prohibition of abuses of a dominant market position, by systematically looking at the the case law and fostering the harmonised enforcement of this Article by the Commission and the national competition authorities as well as its application by national courts.
See also the Commission's press release.

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Towercast case (C-449/21).
The judgment confirms that it is possible for a national competition authority to find that a concentration by a dominant undertaking constitutes an abuse of a dominant position under Article 102 the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU where that concentration has not been the subject of ex ante merger control, at either EU or national level.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

On 7 March 2023, the European Commission carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of companies and an association active in the fragrance industry in various Member States. In parallel, the Commission has sent out formal requests for information to several companies active in the same sector.

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Apple clarifying its concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers.

The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice clarifying the interpretation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.
The Commission will carefully study the judgment.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding a 2017 Commission’s antitrust decision. In its decision, the Commission fined Lithuanian Railways (Lietuvos geležinkeliai) for hindering competition on the rail freight market, in breach of EU antitrust rules, by removing a rail track connecting Lithuania and Latvia.
In its judgment, the Court fully upheld the Commission’s assessment by confirming that such behaviour hindered competition on the rail freight market and is in breach of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.
See also the Court's press release (in PDF format).

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the preliminary reference by the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic of December 2020 in relation to the private damages action against the state-owned railway company České dráhy (“Czech Railway”) for an alleged abuse of a dominant position (predatory pricing) and the related application for disclosure of evidence by Regiojet.
The judgment further clarifies the interplay between the public and private enforcement of competition law and provides additional guidance on a number of specific questions relating to the rules on the disclosure of evidence under Directive 2014/104 (the “Damages Directive”).
Specifically with regard to the interplay between the public and private enforcement of competition law, the Court of Justice holds that the Damages Directive does not preclude a national court from ordering the disclosure of evidence in relation to a private damages action which has been stayed due to an ongoing investigation by the Commission into the same infringement.
See also the Court's press release (in PDF format).

The European Commission today launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft proposal for Guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in the field of agriculture (‘Guidelines') using the novel exclusion from EU competition rules introduced during the recent reform of the common agricultural policy (‘CAP').

The European Commission invites all interested parties to comment on its draft proposal for Guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in the field of agriculture using the novel exclusion from EU competition rules introduced during the recent reform of the common agricultural policy. The draft Guidelines aim at clarifying how operators active in the agri-food sector can design joint sustainability initiatives in line with Article 210a.
See also the Commission's press release.