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Antitrust
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30/11/2023
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Commission sends Statement of Objections to six companies and one trade association in automotive starter battery cartel case
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The European Commission has informed automotive starter batteries manufacturers Banner, Clarios (former JC Autobatterie), Exide, FET (and its predecessor Elettra), and Rombat as well as trade association Eurobat and its service provider Kellen of its preliminary view that they have breached EU antitrust rules by colluding to increase the prices of automotive starter batteries sold to car producers in the European Economic Area.
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State aid
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30/11/2023
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Commission approves €500 million French State aid scheme to support investments in agriculture
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €500 million French scheme to support investments in holding companies active in agricultural primary production. The measure will contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy by fostering the development of a smart, competitive, resilient and diversified agricultural sector that ensures food security, while supporting and enhancing environmental protection and promoting climate action.
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29/11/2023
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Commission approves €833 million Danish and Swedish State aid measure to recapitalise SAS
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The European Commission has approved a recapitalisation of SAS amounting to approximately €833 million (SEK 9.5 billion) granted in October 2020. The measure is approved under the State aid COVID Temporary Framework. That recapitalisation measure was part of a larger recapitalisation package, which also involved a significant participation of private investors, including the conversion of outstanding privately-held debt instruments into equity.
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28/11/2023
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Commission approves €1.1 billion Spanish State aid scheme to support investments in equipment necessary to foster the transition to a net-zero economy
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The European Commission has approved a €1.1 billion Spanish scheme to support investments for the production of equipment necessary to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy, in line with the Green Deal Industrial Plan. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023, to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies.
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28/11/2023
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Commission approves re-introduction of market conform asset protection scheme for banks in Greece
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The European Commission has approved the re-introduction of a Greek scheme (known as ‘Hercules') aimed at supporting the reduction of non-performing loans of Greek banks, as it does not involve State aid.
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Mergers
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27/11/2023
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Commission sends Amazon Statement of Objections over proposed acquisition of iRobot
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The European Commission has informed Amazon of its preliminary view that its proposed acquisition of iRobot may restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners.
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Digital Markets Act
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01/12/2023
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Second meeting of the High-Level Group on the Digital Markets Act
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This week took place the second meeting of the High-Level Group (HLG) on the Digital Markets Act.
The HLG was established in March 2023 and has the objective of providing the EU Commission with advice and expertise within the competencies of its members, to foster a uniform regulatory approach and to ensure that the DMA rules are duly implemented.
In this meeting, the HLG focused on: (i) enhancing its governance; (ii) identifying areas for further cooperation; and (iii) Artificial Intelligence, the impact on the regulatory landscape, and the presence of such technologies across various fields.
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Court
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29/11/2023
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Asempre v Commission and Uno v Commission
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The Commission takes note of today’s judgments of the General Court dismissing as inadmissible UNO and Asempre’s applications for annulment against a Commission State aid Decision of 14 May 2020. In its decision, the Commission found that the compensation in favour of Correos for carrying out the Universal Service Obligation (“USO”) during the period of 2011-2020 complied with EU State aid rules.
In its judgments, the General Court finds that UNO and Asempre do not have legal standing and have not established that their interests as associations are individually affected by the contested decision.
The Court also held that the applicants have not put forward any evidence concerning an impact due to the contested decision on their members, considered individually. The Court considered that the applicants did not demonstrate a causal link between the aid granted to Correos and the evolution in the market shares of their members in the postal sector in Spain.
As regards UNO, the Court additionally found that it failed to demonstrate that any of its members was in competition with Correos for the specific services involved in carrying out the universal service obligation.
See also judgment in case T-514/20.
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Events
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06/12/2023
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TTBER online workshop
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In the context of the European Commission’s evaluation of the competition rules for technology transfer agreements, DG Competition is holding an online workshop in the afternoon of Wednesday 6 December 2023. The aim of the workshop is to gather more information on the functioning of the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (“TTBER”) and the accompanying Guidelines on technology transfer agreements. The workshop will focus on areas of the rules that have attracted the most comments in the recent call for evidence and public consultation.
For more details on the TTBER, please check this page out.
Update: Registration for the event is now closed.
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07/12/2023
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Why do we need competition?
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The Markets for People debates series continues in Brno, Czechia. You will be able to participate in the event live in Brno and to debate with the speakers who will delve into the essential question of Why do we need Competition? The speakers are Petr Mlsna, Chairman, Office for the Protection of Competition ÚOHS; Pavel Telička, former European Commissioner and MEP; Michala Hergetova, economic reporter and moderator of business events; and Martin Kvizda, Professor, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University.
Register now to attend the event in Brno by clicking on this link.
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New legislation
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