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EU Competition
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DG COMP Website
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Mergers
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27/01/2022
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Commission clears acquisition of Kustomer by Meta (formerly Facebook), subject to conditions
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The European Commission has today approved under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Kustomer by Meta (formerly Facebook). The approval is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by Meta.
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25/01/2022
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Commission approves acquisition of Ferro by Prince, subject to conditions
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The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Ferro by Prince, both active in the manufacturing of mineral-based chemicals and industrial additives and products. The approval is conditional on full compliance with commitments offered by Prince.
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State aid
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27/01/2022
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Commission approves €3.8 billion Italian scheme under Recovery and Resilience Facility to support deployment of Gigabit networks
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €3.8 billion Italian scheme made available through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to deploy high-performing gigabit networks in areas of the country where there is no current or planned network able to provide at least 300 megabits per second (Mbps) download speed. The measure is part of a comprehensive strategy that Italy has put in place to address the needs of citizens and businesses in the context of the digitalisation of the country. It will also contribute to the EU's strategic objectives relating to the digital transition.
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27/01/2022
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Commission approves 2022-2027 regional aid map for the Netherlands
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The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules the Netherland's map for granting regional aid from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2027 within the framework of the revised Regional aid Guidelines (‘RAG').
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27/01/2022
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Commission approves 2022-2027 regional aid map for Slovenia
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The European Commission has approved under EU State aid rules Slovenia's map for granting regional aid from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2027 within the framework of the revised Regional aid Guidelines (‘RAG').
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26/01/2022
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Commission approves restructuring aid of up to around €2.7 billion for Romanian power company Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, Romania's plans to grant power company Complexul Energetic Oltenia SA (‘CE Oltenia') restructuring aid for up to €2.66 billion (RON 13.15 billion). The measure will enable the company to finance its restructuring plan and restore its long-term viability.
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Court
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27/01/2022
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Sātiņi-S
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The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In its judgment, the Court clarified that compensation granted by a Member State to an economic operator for the damage suffered as a result of protective measures applicable in nature protection areas confer an advantage capable of constituting State aid.
In addition, the Court clarified that the Member State concerned may classify such compensation as “de minimis aid” and thus refrain from notification to the Commission, if it complies with the conditions of the De minimis aid Regulation for the fishery and aquaculture sector, including the ceiling provided thereby.
See also Curia's press release (in pdf) .
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27/01/2022
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Zinātnes parks
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The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union. In its judgment, the Court clarified that, in order to determine whether a company is ‘in difficulty’ within the meaning of Article 2(18)(a) of the General Block Exemption Regulation, the expression ‘subscribed share capital’ must be interpreted as referring to all contributions which current or future members or shareholders of a company have made or have irrevocably undertaken to make.
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27/01/2022
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Fondul Proprietatea
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The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a preliminary ruling on an appeal submitted by the Court of Appeal in Bucharest. In Case C-179/20, the Court ruled that certain measures introduced by a government decree such as the one at issue might constitute state aid in light of Art. 107(1)TFEU. If so, the measures need to be notified to the European Commission for approval before being actually implemented.
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26/01/2022
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Intel Corporation v Commission
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The Commission takes note of today’s judgment by the General Court, which annulled a large part of a 2009 Commission Decision against Intel, including the fine in its entirety. In its decision, the Commission found that Intel abused its dominant market position by engaging in illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude competitors from the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units (CPUs).
The Commission will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.
See also Curia's press release (in pdf).
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25/01/2022
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Commission v European Food and Others
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The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which set aside the 2019 judgment of the General Court in this case. In today’s judgment, the Court of Justice concluded that the General Court erred in law and held that the Commission was competent to assess the implementation of the arbitral award under EU state aid rules and thus to adopt the 2015 State aid decision. In particular, the Court of Justice found that the right to compensation for the damage alleged by the Swedish investors only arose with the arbitral award of 11 December 2013, i.e. following the accession of Romania to the European Union, even though it was the result of the repeal by Romania of the tax incentives scheme in 2005.
Therefore, considering the fact that the aid measure in question was granted after Romania’s accession to the European Union, the Court of Justice concluded that EU State aid rules were fully applicable to the measures in question and the Commission was competent to assess them.
The Court of Justice also confirmed that the arbitral award was incompatible with EU law in the light of the Achmea case-law. In particular, the Court of Justice stated that the arbitration clause in a Bilateral Investment Treaty (‘BIT’) concluded between a Member State and a non-EU State is capable of adversely affecting the autonomy of EU law after the accession of that State to the European Union, in so far as the BIT is still in force. With effect from Romania’s accession to the European Union, the system of judicial remedies provided for by the TEU and TFEU replaced the arbitration procedure and the consent given by Romania to the arbitration procedure lacked any force.
See also Curia's press release (in pdf).
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Conferences/Speeches
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03/02/2022
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Taking Competition Policy into the Future: open registration
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Registration is open for Taking Competition Policy into the Future. DG Competition organised this conference to give a platform to the experts and scholars of tomorrow to debate what competition policy will look like in ten years’ time.
This half-day, hybrid conference will take place online and in the Berlaymont building in Brussels in the afternoon of 3 February, 2022. Executive Vice-President Vestager will give introductory remarks and Director-General Guersent will close the event.
Click here to register.
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Public consultations
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New legislation
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Other relevant information:
European Economic Area: EFTA State aid register, EFTA Block exemption information sheets and EFTA competition cases
Court: Judicial calendar of the Court
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If you want to get in touch with us, please contact us at COMP PUBLICATIONS.
Published by the Competition Directorate General of the European Commission. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Commission. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for the use which might be made of the above information.
© European Union, 2022. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
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