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23 April
2021
15/2021
Please note: due to a technical upgrade, next week's issue will not be released.
Next issue will be published on Friday May 7h.
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Competition Weekly e-news
Cases, Judgments, News
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EU Competition
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DG COMP Website
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State aid
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23/04/2021
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Commission approves €462 million Portuguese support to compensate TAP for damage suffered due to coronavirus outbreak
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The European Commission has found a €462 million Portuguese support measure in favour of Transportes Aéreos Portugueses, S.A. (“TAP”) to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure aims at compensating the airline for the damage suffered due to the coronavirus outbreak between 19 March and 30 June 2020.
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23/04/2021
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Commission approves French support measures for fisheries sector in the context of Brexit
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, three French schemes worth €100 million in total, to support the fisheries sector affected by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU and the consequent quota share reductions foreseen in the provisions of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). These are the first support measures approved by the Commission in the context of inter-institutional discussions on the proposed Brexit Adjustment Reserve (‘BAR').
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22/04/2021
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Commission approves restructuring aid for Polish Regional Railways, as Poland commits to an accelerated opening to competition of regional passenger rail transport
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The European Commission has concluded that Polish measures to support the restructuring of Polish Regional Railways, the nationwide operator of regional passenger rail transport in Poland, are in line with EU state aid rules.
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19/04/2021
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Commission adopts revised Regional Aid Guidelines
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The European Commission has adopted revised EU guidelines on regional State aid (the “Regional Aid Guidelines”), setting out the rules under which Member States can grant State aid to companies to support the economic development of disadvantaged areas in the EU, while ensuring a level playing field between Member States. The revised Guidelines will enter into force on 1 January 2022.
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Antitrust
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20/04/2021
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Commission fines three EU railway companies €48 million for customer allocation cartel
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The European Commission has fined railway companies Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB), Deutsche Bahn (DB) and Société Nationale des Chemins de fer belges / Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen (SNCB) a total of €48 million for breaching EU antitrust rules.
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Highlights
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29/03/2021
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Who won the Student Challenge?
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The popular vote has picked four young women as the winners of the Student Challenge, part of the Competition policy contributing to the European Green Deal conference.
Over 2,500 people – including some of you – took part in the vote. The winners' prize is seeing their papers published in a special issue of our Competition Policy Briefs (here). The issue will also include longer versions of the other shortlisted abstracts, and essays from the five undergraduate students who have taken up the challenge.
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Public consultations
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05/03/2021 - 28/05/2021
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Collective bargaining agreements for self-employed – scope of application EU competition rules
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This initiative aims to define EU competition law’s scope of application, to enable an improvement of working conditions through collective bargaining agreements – not only for employees, but also, under some circumstances, for the solo self-employed.
See also the corresponding press release.
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08/04/2021 - 03/06/2021
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Review of the Communication on the Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation
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The evaluation of the Communication on the Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation (R&D&I) in the context of the Fitness Check of State aid rules showed that the current provisions are effective and facilitate investment in the field of R&D&I at both European and national levels. However, some targeted adjustments remain necessary to reflect current regulatory, economic and technological developments. New current Commission strategic priorities need also to be taken into account, such as the Industrial and Digital Strategy and the European Green Deal.
See also EC press release.
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26/03/2021 - 18/06/2021
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Revision of certain procedural aspects of EU merger control
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The initiative aims to improve the EU merger control procedures, without impairing effective enforcement. The goal is to make EU merger control more efficient and less burdensome in cases that are unlikely to raise competition concerns and to allow the Commission to devote more resources to those cases where a detailed investigation is required. To this aim, the initiative will explore options to further simplify the process in both simplified and, where possible, non-simplified merger cases.
See also EC press release.
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New legislation
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