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State aid
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26/06/2024
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Commission approves €265 million Swedish State aid measure partly funded under Recovery and Resilience Facility to support H2GS's green steel plant
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The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €265 million Swedish measure made available in part through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (‘RRF') to support H2GS AB in setting up a large-scale green steel plant. The measure will contribute to the achievement of the EU Hydrogen Strategy, the European Green Deal and the Green Deal Industrial Plan targets, while helping to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition, in line with the REPowerEU Plan.
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Mergers
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26/06/2024
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Commission clears acquisition of Viatris by Cooper, subject to conditions
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The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of the European over the counter (‘OTC') business of Viatris Inc. by Cooper Consumer Health S.A.S. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by the parties.
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Antitrust
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Digital Markets Act
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24/06/2024
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Commission sends preliminary findings to Apple and opens additional non-compliance investigation against Apple under the Digital Markets Act
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The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content.
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Competition
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01/07/2024 - 12/07/2024
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2024 Competition summer school for ASEAN, Indian and Chinese officials
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Officials from ASEAN countries, India and China will take part in the Competition Summer School that will run between 1 and 12 July.
On 2 July, participants will visit the Directorate General for Competition, where they will attend a number of sessions to allow exchanges of experiences between the Asian and European Commission's officials. The Competition Summer School facilitates cooperation amongst the participating authorities and deepens the contacts with European officials and professionals.
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Conferences/Speeches
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27/06/2024
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Protecting competition in a changing world
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Speech by EVP Vestager at DG COMP's conference "Protecting competition in a changing world",
Brussels, 27 June 2024.
[...] "And to be clear, the advancement of competition policy means the advancement of the Single Market. Competition policy is about breaking down barriers and market partitioning. Progress in the Single Market's integration will both improve competition and provide more opportunities for scale economies and growth." [...]
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27/06/2024
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Fixing the Information Crisis Before It's Too Late
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Speech by EVP Vestager at the Open Markets Institute,
Brussels, 27 June 2024.
[...] "We are not just concerned with the concentration of market power. We are concerned that this power is in the hands of online platforms that have gained a huge space in our lives. That control how we get our news. How we share it. How we interact with each other.
The ties that we built across the Atlantic serve a common purpose. To restore competition. To empower companies and consumers. To set guardrails against disinformation and impediments to plurality. We have built far-reaching tools. We owe it to our citizens to use them with purpose." [...]
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24/06/2024
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The Digital Markets Act: opening the gates for competition
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Speech by EVP Vestager at the European Competition Network conference on the DMA,
Brussels, 24 June 2024.
[...] "The Commission and the ECN members will work hard to ensure the DMA is effective. We will make sure that the stadium gates are kept open, the pitch is level and play is fair. You can leave that to us.
But we need you—startups, SMEs, and investors—to take the ball, run with it and score those goals. We are at a crucial point for digital markets, and we all need to pitch in. Together as Team DMA, we can make the digital game competitive again."
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21/06/2024
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Regulating giants
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Speech by EVP Vestager at the European Young Bar Association summer conference,
Brussels, 21 June 2024.
[...] "When you read Norse mythology, the interactions with the jötnar are never simple. Sometimes it involves negotiations, sometimes it involves more active persuasion.
I think that is also how it must be with today's digital giants. The fact is, we are only at the beginning of a new digital era. The new rules we have put in place will need to be honed over time – I'm sure of it. But one lesson from the Viking myths will still be true: power is neither ‘all good' nor ‘all bad' – it's a mix of the two; and it all depends on what you do with it." [...]
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Court
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27/06/2024
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Commission v Servier and Others
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The Commission takes note of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding the Commission’s appeal against a 2018 judgment of the General Court. In 2018, the General Court annulled parts of a 2014 Commission decision. In its 2014 decision, the Commission imposed fines totalling €427 million on Servier and five generic companies for curbing entry of cheaper versions of a cardiovascular medicine. In particular, the Commission found that all companies entered into restrictive agreements under Article 101 TFEU and that Servier put in place a strategy aimed at systematically buying out any competitive threats that amounted to an abuse of dominant position under Article 102 TFEU.
By upholding the Commission’s appeal, the Court of Justice confirmed most of the Commission’s findings included in the 2014 decision. At the same time, the Court of Justice referred back to the General Court the assessment of certain findings for it to rule on them.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).
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26/06/2024
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Aluminios Cortizo and Cortizo Cartera v Commission
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The Commission takes note of the judgments of the General Court upholding a 2013 Commission’s State aid decision. In its 2013 decision, the Commission concluded that a Spanish scheme for the purchase of ships involving leasing and financing through tax relief to be partly incompatible with EU State aid rules. The Commission found that the scheme conferred a selective advantage on economic interest groupings and their investors over their competitors. It therefore ordered Spain to recover the incompatible aid.
On 2 February 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union largely upheld the Commission decision, while annulling it insofar as it only identified the economic interest groupings and their investors as beneficiaries of the aid.
In today’s judgment, the General Court ruled that the last remaining application for annulment against the Commission’s 2013 decision was without object as regards the question of the identification of the indirect beneficiaries of the scheme and dismissed the remainder of the action for annulment.
The judgment also confirms that the Commission was competent to ask Spain to set aside private contractual clauses which allowed beneficiaries of the aid scheme to shift the burden of recovery to third parties.
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Publications
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Public consultations
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07/06/2024 - 21/07/2024
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State aid – review of rules on exemptions for small amounts of aid (de minimis aid) in agriculture
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The Commission is now revising the agricultural de minimis Regulation to react to increasing inflationary pressure in the sector. It is proposing to adjust the de minimis threshold to inflation and to also increase the national caps. It also proposes to improve transparency by introducing a mandatory de minimis register, which will reduce administrative burden on farmers who currently use a self-declaration system.
All citizens, organisations and public authorities are welcome to contribute to this consultation. Contributions are particularly sought from national authorities dealing with measures covered by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid in the agriculture sector (‘agricultural de minimis Regulation’).
See also the Commission's press release.
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18/06/2024 - 20/09/2024
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State aid – draft Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines (LMTG) and draft Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER)
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The Commission is publishing for consultation the draft Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines (LMTG) and Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER).
The proposals follow the conclusions of the Fitness Check on the existing State aid rules in the field of land transport sector that showed that adjustments were needed to reflect market developments and the current EU's strategic priorities, including the European Green Deal.
See also the EC press release.
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27/06/2024 - 20/09/2024
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Students' competition: Protecting competition in a changing world
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From EVP Vestager's speech at DG COMP's conference "Protecting competition in a changing world",
Brussels, 27 June 2024.
[...] "We are inviting all students in the EU to take part in a student challenge. Here's what you have to do: listen to the panels of today's conference. Next, we ask you to choose one panel, pick one theme, and imagine what your contribution to this discussion would be. Ask yourself, “if I were up on that stage, what would I be saying right now?” Consider: What are the implications of the report's findings for antitrust and merger control? Are these different for State aid policy? How do changes in the state of competition impact the EU's competitiveness?
We invite students to contribute with no more than 300 words, and submit it to us before the deadline, which is September 20.
The best entries will be invited to return in October to accept the winning prize, where I will have the pleasure of meeting them and discuss their views in more detail. So, in fact, this is really a prize for me, because I get to hear from brilliant student voices, who will bring a fresh perspective to the table."
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Open calls for tender
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18/06/2024 - 02/07/2024
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Call for interest International Competition Network – Non- Governmental Advisors (ICN-NGAs) 2024 - 2025
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The European Commission invites expressions of interest for the International Competition Network - Non-Governmental Advisors (ICN-NGAs) role for the 2024-2025 term
DG Competition seeks to partner with various ICN-NGAs to ensure high-quality contributions based on broad stakeholder experience. Selected ICN-NGAs will actively engage with the European Commission in drafting and revising Working Group outputs, and participating in seminars, webinars, and workshops.
If you are interested in becoming an ICN-NGA and supporting the European Commission, please contact DG Competition at COMP-ICN@ec.europa.eu.
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25/06/2024 - 31/07/2024
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Call for tenders for a study of interoperability tools in the digital single market
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The European Commission is launching a call for tenders for a study into interoperability tools in the digital single market in the context of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
With this study the contractor will map out the technical challenges and solutions for ensuring horizontal interoperability between number-independent interpersonal communication services with a particular focus on evaluating the merits of a potential extension of this obligation to online social networking services. The study should therefore offer practical recommendations based on the latest developments in horizontal interoperability within the context of the implementation of the DMA.
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New legislation
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