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12 November 2021
38/2021
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Competition Weekly e-news
Cases, Judgments, News
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Follow us
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EU Competition
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DG COMP Website
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State aid
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10/11/2021
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Commission approves €4.5 billion Italian scheme to support companies and the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak
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The European Commission has approved a €4.5 billion Italian scheme to support companies and the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Framework.
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Court
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11/11/2021
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Autostrada Wielkopolska v Commission and Poland
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In Case C-933/19 P, the Court of Justice dismissed Autostrada Wielkopolska SA’s appeal against the judgment of the General Court (T-778/17), in which company’s action against the Commission’s Decision ordering Autostrada to repay the aid received back to the Polish State had been dismissed. In its judgment, the Court held that the Commission did not infringe any essential procedural requirement, that the General Court did not misapply the private investor test, and that General Court applied the rules of evidence correctly.
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11/11/2021
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Stichting Cartel Compensation and Equilib Netherlands
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The Commission takes note of today’s preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In its ruling, the Court confirmed that a national court has the power to find an infringement of Article 101 TFEU and therefore, subsequently, to award antitrust damages also for the period when the Commission did not have at its disposal effective powers for the enforcement of EU competition law in the air transport sector.
We will carefully study the judgment.
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10/11/2021
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Solar Electric and Others v Commission
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The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court. In its judgment, the General Court dismissed Solar Electric Holding’s appeal against a 2020 Commission’s decision to reject the company’s complaint.
In its judgment, the General Court confirmed that formal complaints should by definition aim at raising doubts as regards the compatibility of State aid measures with the internal market. In addition, the General Court confirmed that only Member States have the right and the obligation to notify State aid measures to the Commission. Therefore, the Commission is not obliged to examine the substance of a complaint whereby an applicant seeks to demonstrate the compatibility of State aid measures.
The Commission shall however examine any information brought to its attention as “general market information” without any obligation to start an investigation ex officio.
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10/11/2021
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Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping)
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Today, the General Court confirmed the Commission's June 2017 decision that Google abused its market dominance in general search by treating its own comparison shopping service more favourably than competing comparison shopping services. Google was displaying its own service prominently at or near the top of the first search results page, irrespective of how good or relevant it was, while rival services were demoted to page four or lower, where they were not even seen. Today's judgment delivers the clear message that Google's conduct was unlawful and it provides the necessary legal clarity for the market. Comparison shopping delivers an important service to consumers, at a time when e-commerce has become more and more important for retailers and consumers. As digital services have become omnipresent in our society nowadays, consumers should be able to rely on them in order to make informed and unbiased choices. The Commission will continue to use all tools at its disposal to address the role of big digital platforms on which businesses and users depend to, respectively, access end users and access digital services. Antitrust enforcement goes hand in hand with the EU's legislative action to address specific issues going beyond competition law. In this respect, the Commission's proposal for a Regulation on Digital Markets Act to ensure fairness and contestability is currently discussed by the European Parliament and the Council.
See also Curia's press release.
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Conferences/Speeches
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03/02/2022
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Taking Competition Policy into the Future
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DG Competition will hold a conference for Young Experts on 3 February 2022. “Taking Competition Policy into the Future” will give a platform to the competition experts and scholars of tomorrow.
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Public consultations
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06/10/2021 - 08/12/2021
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Targeted review of the General Block Exemption Regulation (State aid): revised rules for State aid promoting the green and digital transition
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Based on the results of the evaluations conducted in the context of the Fitness Check of the State aid rules, the Commission started a revision of a number of Guidelines (Energy and Environmental Guidelines; Regional Aid Guidelines; Research, Development and Innovation Framework and Risk Finance Guidelines), where it appeared that changes are necessary, notably in light of new Commission priorities and the European Green Deal and Industrial and Digital Strategies. Given the complementarity between the GBER and these Guidelines, the Commission is, with the present targeted amendment, also revising the corresponding provisions of the GBER.
See also EC press release.
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New legislation
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