"Competition weekly e-news" Newsletter Issues

Antitrust and cartels (28/05/2021)

New Legislation
'What's new?'

Commission concludes that online social networking service of X should not be designated under the Digital Markets Act (16/10/2024)

Today, the Commission found that the online social networking service of X should not be designated as a core platform service under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Today's decision comes after an in-depth market investigation launched on 13 May 2024 following the notification by X of its status of potential gatekeeper.

Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance (01/08/2024)

Against the background of market developments and the evolution of the EU Court’s case law, on 27 March 2023 the Commission launched the process leading to the adoption of guidelines on exclusionary abuses with a Call for Evidence. The replies to the Call for Evidence have been taken into account in the preparation of the draft Guidelines.
The draft Guidelines aim at reflecting the EU courts' case law on exclusionary abuses in light of the extensive experience gained by the Commission in the enforcement of Article 102 TFEU. This will help increasing legal certainty to the benefit of consumers, businesses and the national competition authorities and national courts.
See also the EC press release.

Commission approves Eiffage's acquisition of EQOS subject to conditions (16/10/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of EQOS by Eiffage. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with commitments offered by Eiffage and EQOS.

Mergers (28/05/2021)

New Legislation
'What's new?'

State aid (28/05/2021)

New Legislation
'What's new?'

Digital Markets Act (11/01/2024)

New Legislation
'What's new?'

Foreign Subsidies (11/01/2024)

New Legislation

Protecting competition in a changing world : watch the workshop (15/10/2024)

On October 15th, DG Competition hosted a half-day workshop for leading experts to discuss its Protecting Competition in a Changing World report on the evolution of competition in the EU during the past 25 years published on 24 June 2024.
The main objective of the workshop was to deepen the discussion on the findings of the report with economic and legal experts from different backgrounds and further explore its possible implications.
In case you missed it, you can watch the recorded debate.

Commission approves €520 million Luxembourgish State aid schemes to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (11/10/2024)

The European Commission has approved two Luxembourgish schemes with a total budget of €520 million to help manufacturing companies to decarbonise their production processes and to support investments in strategic sectors to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The schemes were approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF') adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission approves €1 billion Italian State aid scheme to support farmers affected by floods and landslides (09/10/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €1 billion Italian scheme to support farmers affected by flood and landslide events in certain regions of Italy.

Discontinuance of the investigation against Novartis (10/10/2024)

The European Commission and the Swiss Competition Commission COMCO close preliminary investigation into alleged patent-related abuse by Novartis. The investigation, conducted in close cooperation between the European Commission and COMCO, focused on Novartis' acquisition and enforcement of patents related to innovative treatments for a skin condition.
After analysing the collected evidence, both authorities concluded that there was insufficient basis to pursue the case further. The closure of a preliminary investigation does not imply that the behaviour under review complies with EU competition laws.

Protecting competition in a changing world (15/10/2024)

DG Competition is hosting a half-day workshop to discuss with leading experts its recent report ‘Protecting Competition in a Changing World'. The main objective of the workshop is to deepen the discussion on the findings of the report with economic and legal experts from different backgrounds and further explore its possible implications.

Winners of the Protecting Competition in a Changing World Student challenge (15/10/2024)

The European announced the winners of the Protecting Competition in a Changing World Student challenge.
As part of the challenge, university students across the EU were invited to watch the "Protecting Competition in a Changing World" conference, select a panel, and answer the question: "What would you have said if you had been a speaker?"
Congratulations to Valentin Ronchev, Sveva Rossi, Corentin Dubreucq-Perus, and Mateusz Mintzberg and a heartfelt thank you to all the students who participated in the competition
DG Competition and Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager look forward to welcoming the winners to Brussels.

Commission approves €1.2 billion Polish State aid scheme to support investments in electricity storage facilities to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (03/10/2024)

The European Commission has approved a €1.2 billion Polish scheme to support investments in electricity storage facilities to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF'), adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024. 

Speech on Generative Al and Competition (01/10/2024)

Listen to the speech by EVP Vestager at the webinar "Generative Al : the challenges for innovation, the economy and competition" organised by the French Autorité de la concurrence,
1 October 2024.
[...] "For competition enforcers, I think it is clear what must be done: we must continue to monitor transactions in the AI sector, we must continue to assess our options and how to address new challenges and we must do this by working together." [...]

The European Commission appoints a new Chief Competition Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (02/10/2024)

Today, the European Commission has appointed Emanuele Tarantino as Chief Competition Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). This department of the Commission works to ensure that all companies compete equally and fairly on their merits within the single market to benefit consumers, businesses, and the European economy. The date of effect will be determined later.

Commission approves acquisition of Kinetics by Exyte (30/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Kinetics Holding GmbH by Exyte GmbH. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area.

thyssenkrupp v Commission (04/10/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union upholding the 2019 Commission’s decision that prohibited the creation of a joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp under the EU Merger Regulation (‘EUMR’).
With this judgment, the Court of Justice upholds a “gap case” prohibition under the EUMR, meaning a case where the merger is found to lead to a significant impediment to effective competition despite the fact that the merged entity is not found to be dominant in the relevant market. The Court thus confirms the Commission’s framework of review to examining potential anticompetitive effects stemming from mergers between close but non-dominant competitors.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

Ferriera Valsabbia and Valsabbia Investimenti v Commission (04/10/2024)

(Joined Cases C-29/23 P, C-30/23 P)
The Commission takes note of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU that uphold a 2019 Commission decision. In its decision, the Commission had found a cartel in the Italian market of steel reinforcing bars for concrete having as its object or effect the fixing of prices and the limitation or control of output or sales, in breach of Article 65 of the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community.
The judgments confirmed the fines imposed on Alfa Acciai S.p.A. and Valsabbia Investimenti S.p.A.and Ferriera Valsabbia S.p.A. The amount of the fine imposed on Ferriere Nord S.p.A. was instead reduced because the Court of Justice found that the Commission had applied different rates of reduction, without a valid justification, infringing the principle of equal treatment.
See also Ferriere Nord v Commission; as well as Curia's press release (in PDF format).

FIFA (04/10/2024)

The Commission takes note of the preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union clarifying that certain FIFA transfer rules governing contractual relations between football players and clubs in situations of termination ‘without just cause’ of the employment with the former club constitute a restriction of the free movement of workers under Article 45 TFEU and, subject to verification by the referring court, are unlikely to be justified.
The Court also found these rules to restrict competition by object under Article 101(1) TFEU. As regards a justification under Article 101(3), the Court noted that, subject to verification by the referring court, these rules do not appear to be indispensable or necessary.
It will now be for the referring court (Mons court of appeals) to verify whether the restrictions of the free movement of workers and competition are justified.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

Falke v Commission (04/10/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s judgments by the Court of Justice of the EU, upholding a 2021 Commission State aid decision. In its decision, the Commission had approved, under the COVID Temporary Framework, a German “umbrella” scheme to support uncovered fixed costs of companies affected by coronavirus outbreak. This umbrella scheme allowed the German authorities to set up schemes to support companies that suffered from a turnover decline between March 2020 and June 2021 of at least 30% compared to the same period of 2019.
In its judgments, the Court of Justice of the EU fully upheld the Commission decision. In particular, the Court found that the Commission had correctly assessed the condition of 30% decline in turnover.
See also E. Breuninger v Commission.

European Food and Others v Commission (02/10/2024)

(Joined Cases T-624/15 RENV, T-694/15 RENV, T-704/15 RENV)
The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the General Court upholding a 2015 Commission State aid decision. In its decision, the Commission had found that Romania’s implementation of the arbitration award Micula v Romania of 11 December 2013 constituted new unlawful and incompatible State aid, since it entailed the payment of compensation for forgone State aid following the repeal of an illegal State aid scheme. The Commission decision therefore prohibits Romania from paying out any compensation under the arbitral award and obliges Romania to recover any paid amount.
In its judgment, the General Court fully confirmed the Commission decision, as the COM decision also prohibits Romania to further pay any compensation and to recover any payment done under the arbitral award.

Pharol v Commission (02/10/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court rejecting Pharol’s action for annulment of a 2022 Commission decision. In its decision, the Commission re-adopted a fine against Pharol (previously Portugal Telecom) for agreeing not to compete with its com-petitor Telefónica on the Iberian telecommunications markets, in breach of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
In its judgment, the General Court fully upheld the Commission’s assessment and decision. The Court confirms that when assessing potential competition in the context of calculating the fine, the test for what is potential competition remains the same as when assessing the substantive infringement. In this case the non-compete clause was assessed against insurmountable barriers to entry, not "real and concrete possibilities to enter".

Crown Holdings and Crown Cork & Seal Deutschland v Commission (02/10/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgments of the General Court. In its judgments, the General Court dismissed the parties’ actions against a 2022 Commission settlement decision imposing a total fine of €31.5 million on two producers of metal packaging for participating in a cartel.
Today’s judgment brings further clarity on the nature of the principles for case allocation and re-allocation between a Member State’s National Competition Authority and the European Commission, as included in the Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities.
See also Silgan Holdings and Others v Commission.

State aid in the aviation sector – Revision of the Commission guidelines on airports and airlines (27/08/2024)

This initiative aims to revise the guidelines on state aid in the aviation sector and align them with the objectives of the Green Deal, while preserving connectivity and supporting competition in the aviation sector.
This call for evidence is open for feedback. Your input will be taken into account as we further develop and fine-tune this initiative. Feedback received will be published on this site and therefore must adhere to the feedback rules.

Commission approves €1 billion Portuguese State aid scheme to support investments in strategic sectors necessary to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (27/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved a €1 billion Portuguese 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 (‘TCTF'), adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission conditionally approves the acquisition of parts of PPF Telecom by e&, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (24/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the acquisition by Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC of sole control of PPF Telecom Group B.V., excluding its Czech business, subject to conditions. The approval is conditional on full compliance with the commitments offered by the parties.

Commission carries out unannounced antitrust inspections in the financial services sector (23/09/2024)

The European Commission is carrying out unannounced antitrust inspections at the premises of companies active in the financial services sector in two Member States.

JCDecaux Street Furniture Belgium v Commission (26/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU, upholding in full a 2019 Commission decision. In its decision, the Commission had found that JCDecaux Street Furniture Belgium received incompatible aid in the form of tax and royalty exemptions for the occupation of the public domain, by continuing the use of certain advertising panels in the City of Brussels beyond the foreseen date of removal. The Commission had therefore ordered Belgium to recover the incompatible aid, plus interest.

Orlen v Commission (26/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which confirms the 2018 Commission decision against Gazprom. In its decision, the Commission imposed legally binding commitments on Gazprom to address the competition concerns identified in the context of its antitrust investigation into Gazprom’s practices in Central and Easter European gas markets.
Today’s judgment fully upholds the Commission’s assessment and decision. It also provides useful clarifications about the Commission’s procedure leading to the adoption of commitments decision pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, as well as the interplay between competition law and other Treaty objectives.

Covestro Deutschland v Commission (26/09/2024)

On 26 September 2024, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in four sets of joined cases: (a) joined cases C-790/21 P, Covestro Deutschland v Commission and C-791/21 P, Germany v Covestro Deutschland and Commission; (b) joined cases C-792/21 P, AZ v Commission and C-793/21 P, Germany v AZ and Commission; (c) joined cases C-794/21 P, Germany v Infineon Technologies Dresden and Others and C-800/21 P, Infineon Technologies and Infineon Technologies Dresden v Commission; (d) joined cases C-795/21 P, WEPA Hygieneprodukte and WEPA Deutschland v Commission and C-796/21 P, Germany v WEPA Hygieneprodukte and Others.
The cases concern a German scheme (SA.34045) for the exemption of stable baseload electricity consumers from network charges between 2011 and 2013
The Commission takes note of the judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU, upholding in full the 2021 rulings by the General Court and hence the 2018 Commission State aid decision.
In its decision, the Commission had found that certain exemptions from network charges for baseload electricity consumers in Germany in the years 2012 and 2013 amounted to illegal and incompatible State aid.
Today’s judgments confirmed the Commission’s finding that the scheme involved the use of State resources and thus constituted State aid, which the Commission had found to be incompatible with the internal market.

New issue of Competition Merger Brief (25/09/2024)

The second issue of 2024 includes the following articles: Adobe/Figma; Amazon/iRobot; Orange/MasMobil; CMA CGM/Bolloré Logistics.

Commission approves €2.7 billion Austrian State aid scheme to support decarbonisation of industrial production processes (19/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2.7 billion Austrian scheme to support companies active in the industrial sector to decarbonise their production processes. The measure will contribute to the implementation of Austria's National Energy and Climate Plan and to the achievement of the European Green Deal targets, while helping to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels in line with the REPowerEU Plan.

Commission approves €1.2 billion Polish State aid scheme to support investments in strategic sectors to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (17/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved an around €1.2 billion (PLN 5 billion) Polish scheme to support investments in strategic sectors to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF') adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission approves €682 million Belgian State aid scheme to support renewable offshore wind energy to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (13/09/2024)

The European Commission has approved a €682 million Belgian scheme to support renewable offshore wind energy to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF') adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission takes note of the withdrawal of referral requests by Member States concerning the acquisition of certain assets of Inflection by Microsoft (18/09/2024)

The European Commission takes note of the withdrawal of the initial referral requests by seven Member States to review under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (‘EUMR') the acquisition of certain assets of Inflection AI, Inc. (‘Inflection') by Microsoft Corporation (‘Microsoft). The deadline for the Commission to decide upon these requests was 19 September 2024. Following the judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union of 3 September 2024 in the Illumina/GRAIL case, holding that Member States cannot refer a transaction to the Commission under Article 22 of the EUMR when not competent to review the transaction under their national merger control rules, all seven Member States that submitted an initial referral have decided to withdraw their requests. Therefore, the Commission will take no decision in this matter.

Commission starts first proceedings to specify Apple's interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (19/09/2024)

Today, the European Commission has started two specification proceedings to assist Apple in complying with its interoperability obligations under the Digital Markets Act (‘DMA'). Under the DMA, Apple must provide free and effective interoperability to third party developers and businesses with hardware and software features controlled by Apple's operating systems iOS and iPadOS, designated under the DMA.

Booking.com and Booking.com (Deutschland) (19/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Booking.com Germany case (C 264/23).
In its judgment, the Court indicated that parity clauses in agreements between online hotel reservation platforms and providers of accommodation services online are not ancillary to those agreements. Therefore, they do not fall outside the scope of Article 101 TFEU, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.
Today’s preliminary ruling also provides guidance on defining the relevant market in the context of online hotel reservation platforms for the purpose of applying EU legislation.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

United Kingdom v Commission and Others (19/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today's judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union annulling the General Court’s judgement of 2022 and the Commission decision of 2019. In its decision, the Commission had found that part of the UK’s Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) legislation, which included a special derogation rule for certain financing income of multinational groups active in the UK (the ‘Group Financing Exemption’), constituted unlawful and incompatible State aid.
The Commission will carefully study the judgment and assess its implications.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

Qualcomm v Commission (18/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court. In its judgment, the General Court dismissed Qualcomm’s action for annulment of a 2019 Commission decision imposing a fine of €242 million on Qualcomm for predatory pricing.
In its judgment, the General Court fully upheld all of the substantive findings in the Commission’s decision, but partly accepted Qualcomm’s plea concerning the calculation of the amount of the fine, which results in a minor reduction of the fine by approximately €3.5 million.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google AdSense for Search) (18/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court. In its judgment, the General Court upheld Google’s application for the annulment of the 2019 Commission’s decision in the Google AdSense case.
The Commission will carefully study the judgment and reflect on possible next steps.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

Competition in Generative AI and Virtual Worlds (19/09/2024)

Generative AI and virtual worlds technologies are set to have a profound impact on many industries. While they will bring many positive changes, they could also give rise to competition concerns.

State aid – draft Land and Multimodal Transport Guidelines (LMTG) and draft Transport Block Exemption Regulation (TBER) (18/06/2024)

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.

Students' competition: Protecting competition in a changing world (27/06/2024)

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."

Commission opens in-depth investigation into alleged German State aid involved in the sale of the Nürburgring racetrack (12/09/2024)

The Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether the sale of the Nürburgring racetrack complex in Germany to Capricorn Nürburgring Besitzgesellschaft GmbH (‘Capricorn') is in line with EU State aid rules. The measure was found to be in line with State aid rules in October 2014, but the Commission's decision was annulled by the Court of Justice on 2 September 2021.

Commission services and EDPB will start joint work on guidance on the interplay between DMA and GDPR (10/09/2024)

The Commission services in charge of the enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) have agreed to work together to clarify and give guidance on the interplay between DMA and GDPR.
This enhanced dialogue between Commission’s services and the EDPB will focus on the applicable obligations to digital gatekeepers under the DMA which present a strong interplay with the GDPR to ensure the coherent application to digital gatekeepers of the applicable regulatory frameworks.

Commission orders recovery of around €14 million in incompatible German State aid from Frankfurt-Hahn airport and Ryanair (09/09/2024)

Today, the European Commission has concluded that three German measures in favour of Ryanair and the Frankfurt-Hahn airport are incompatible with EU State aid rules. Germany must now recover the incompatible aid, including interest. The Commission has also found in separate decision that other public funding measures for Frankfurt-Hahn airport, Haitec AG and Ryanair do not constitute State aid.

Casino de Spa and Others (12/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today's preliminary ruling by the Court of Justice according to which, pursuant to Article 108(3) TFEU, where a VAT exemption enjoyed by certain par-ties constitutes unlawful State aid, a party who has not benefited from such an exemption cannot receive, in the form of damages, an amount equivalent to the VAT paid.
In light of that conclusion, the Court of Justice considered unnecessary to answer the ques-tion as to whether the VAT exemption at stake in the national proceedings, enjoyed by cer-tain gambling operators, constituted State aid.
The Commission will study the judgment and assess its possible implications for its case practice.

Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Shopping) (10/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union which upholds the Commission's Google Shopping Decision. In that Decision, the Commission found that Google favoured, within its general search results, its own comparison-shopping service “Google Shopping”, over those services provided by its rivals.
The Court of Justice confirms that, in certain circumstances, the favourable treatment of its own services by a dominant company can be a breach of Article 102 TFEU.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format), as well as the remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.

Commission v Ireland and Others (10/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the Court of Justice's judgment confirming the Commission’s decision of 30 August 2016 finding that Ireland granted unlawful State aid to Apple through selective tax breaks, which Ireland now has to recover.
The Court of Justice confirmed the Commission's approach that the intellectual property licences held by Apple's Irish subsidiaries and related profits should have been allocated to the Irish branches. And that Apple should have paid taxes worth 13 billion euros on all related profits in Ireland.
This means that the recovered taxes, which have been in an escrow account for quite some years in Ireland during the ongoing court proceedings, now must be released to the Irish State.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format), as well as the remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.

Commission publishes findings of evaluation of EU antitrust enforcement framework (05/09/2024)

The European Commission has published today a Staff Working Document (‘SWD') summarising the findings of the evaluation of the  EU Regulations which lay out the procedures for the application of EU competition rules (Regulation 1/2003 and Regulation 773/2004).
See also the corresponding Q&A document.

EU Competitiveness and an Effective Competition Regime (06/09/2024)

Speech by EVP Vestager at the 28th Annual Competition Conference of the International Bar Association,
Florence, 6 September 2024.
[...] "Will we revise Regulation 1/2003 and when? I am afraid these are questions that I cannot answer. Whether or not Regulation 1/2003 will be amended will be for the new Commissioner for Competition to decide. But I assure you that there will be opportunities for you to engage with the process." [...]

PBL and Abdelmouine v Commission (05/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU, which dismissed an appeal against the judgment of the General Court of February 2023. In its judgment, the General Court had rejected an application by a complainant seeking to annul a Commission letter rejecting the complaint. The Commission had considered the complainant not to be an interested party entitled to lodge a State aid complaint with the Commission.
In today’s judgment, the Court of Justice confirmed that finding. In particular, the Court confirmed that the applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate that he is an interested party.

Slovenia v Flašker and Commission (05/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU, which upholds the judgment of the General Court relating to a Commission decision of April 2020. In its decision, the Commission had found that four alleged State aid measures granted in favour of Lekarna Ljubljana constituted either no aid or existing aid. Today, the Court of Justice confirmed the General Court’s finding that the Commission should have had doubts that assets granted by Slovenia to Lekarna Ljubljana involved State aid, with the result that the Commission should have opened the formal investigation procedure regarding this measure.
The Commission will carefully assess the judgment.

Conserve Italia and Conserves France v Commission (04/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court. In its judgment, the Court dismissed Conserve Italia’s appeal against a 2021 Commission decision imposing a fine of EUR 20 million on Conserve Italia for participating in a cartel in the canned vegetables sector.
In its judgment, the General Court fully upheld the Commission assessment and decision.

Illumina v Commission (03/09/2024)

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union setting aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 13 July 2022, Illumina v Commission (T-227/21). Today’s judgement also annuls the European Commission’s decision of 19 April 2021, accepting the request of the French Competition Authority to examine the concentration relating to the acquisition by Illumina Inc. of sole control over Grail LLC; and annuls the Commission decisions accepting the requests of the Greek, Belgian, Norwegian, Icelandic and Dutch competition authorities to join that referral request.
The Commission will carefully study the judgment and its implications and will reflect on possible next steps.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format), as well as the statement by Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager.

Targeted Consultation on procedure for access to justice in environmental matters in relation to State aid decisions (01/07/2024)

The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation to seek feedback from the business community and public authorities on a proposed new procedure aimed to give public access to judicial procedures to challenge specific decisions on State aid measures that allegedly contravene EU environmental law. 
The Commission is seeking feedback on the impact of the proposed procedure on EU policies, as well as on investment decisions and projects implementation by the business community. The targeted consultation will also gather information on the cost implications and administrative burden of the new procedure for businesses and Member States.

Commission approves €99.5 million Romanian State aid measure to support Nokian Tyres' new zero CO2 emission tyre factory (13/08/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €99.5 million (RON 495.2 million) Romanian measure in favour of Nokian Tyres. The aid will support the establishment of a new zero carbon dioxide emission factory for passenger car tyres in Oradea. The measure will contribute to the EU's strategic objectives relating to job creation, regional development, and to the green transition of the regional economy.

Commission approves €5 billion German State aid measure to support ESMC in setting up a new semiconductor manufacturing facility (20/08/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €5 billion German measure to support European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (‘ESMC') in the construction and operation of a microchip manufacturing plant in Dresden. ESMC is a joint venture between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (‘TSMC'), Bosch, Infineon, and NXP. The measure will strengthen Europe's security of supply, resilience and digital sovereignty in semiconductor technologies, in line with the objectives set out in the European Chips Act Communication. The measure will also contribute to achieving the digital and green transitions.

Commission approves €998 million Dutch State aid scheme to support renewable hydrogen production (29/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €998 million Dutch scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen. The measure aims to contribute to the development of renewable hydrogen in line with the objectives of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Deal. The scheme will also contribute to the objectives of the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition.

Commission opens in-depth State aid investigation into €321.2 million German measure to restructure Condor (29/07/2024)

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether a German €321.2 million restructuring measure in favour of Condor is in line with EU State aid rules. The measure was initially approved in July 2021 by the Commission under the State aid Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines, but the Commission's decision was subsequently annulled by the judgment of the General Court of 8 May 2024.

Commission approves €80 million Dutch State aid measure to support an innovative technology for the production of renewable hydrogen (29/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €80 million Dutch measure to support Djewels B.V., a subsidiary of the hydrogen company HyCC B.V., in the demonstration of an innovative renewable hydrogen production technology. The measure will contribute to the development of renewable hydrogen production in line with the objectives of the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the European Green Deal.

Commission seeks feedback on draft antitrust Guidelines on exclusionary abuses (01/08/2024)

The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on draft Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance.
Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU') prohibits dominant companies from engaging in abusive behaviour, including behaviour that excludes competitors from the market. Examples of such exclusionary abuses of dominance include predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing and refusal to supply.

Statement by Executive Vice-President Vestager on the announcement by IAG to withdraw from proposed acquisition of Air Europa (02/08/2024)

The European Commission takes note of IAG's announcement that it has decided to terminate its agreement with Globalia according to which IAG intended to acquire sole control over Air Europa. IAG owns several airlines, including Iberia and Vueling, and is the largest airline operator in Spain. Air Europa is the third largest airline in Spain. Up to the abandonment of the transaction, the discussions with the companies and the proposed remedy package were not able to adequately address the competition concerns identified by the Commission. The Commission had opened an in-depth investigation into the proposed transaction on 24 January 2024 and sent a Statement of Objections to IAG on 26 April 2024.

Commission approves acquisition of Juniper by HPE (01/08/2024)

The European Commission has approved unconditionally, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Juniper Networks, Inc. by Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company. The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns in the European Economic Area.

Commission clears Bunge's acquisition of Viterra subject to conditions (01/08/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed acquisition of Viterra Limited by Bunge Global S.A. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with the commitments offered by the parties.

Commission approves €1.2 billion Spanish State aid scheme to support investments in the production of renewable hydrogen to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (26/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved a €1.2 billion Spanish scheme to support investments in the production of renewable hydrogen to foster the transition to a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF'), adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission approves €2 billion Dutch measure to support production of medical radioisotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment (26/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, a €2 billion Dutch measure to support the PALLAS project aimed at producing medical radioisotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The measure contributes to ensuring security of supply of essential and live-saving medicines in line with the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe.

Commission approves €1.5 billion French State aid scheme to support sustainable biomethane production to foster the transition to a net-zero economy (25/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved a €1.5 billion French scheme to support the production of sustainable biomethane to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF') adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 and amended on 20 November 2023 and on 2 May 2024.

Commission approves amendment to German State aid scheme to support deployment of Gigabit networks (23/07/2024)

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, amendments to a State aid scheme to support the deployment of very high capacity broadband networks offering Gigabit speeds in Germany.

Commission opens in-depth State aid investigation into Belgian support for lifetime extension of two nuclear reactors (22/07/2024)

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether public support that Belgium plans to grant for the lifetime extension of two nuclear reactors (Doel 4 and Tihange 3) is in line with EU State aid rules.

Commission opens investigation into possible anticompetitive agreements in the online food delivery sector (23/07/2024)

The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation to assess whether Delivery Hero and Glovo have breached EU competition rules by participating in a cartel in the sector of online ordering and delivery of food, grocery and other daily consumer goods in the European Economic Area (‘EEA').

Commission accepts commitments by Vifor to address possible anticompetitive disparagement of iron medicine (22/07/2024)

The European Commission has made commitments offered by Vifor legally binding under EU antitrust rules. The commitments address the Commission's competition concerns relating to Vifor's potential disparagement of Monofer, the closest - and potentially only – competitor of Vifor's flagship intravenous iron medicine in Europe, Ferinject.

Joint Statement on Competition in Generative AI Foundation Models and AI Products (23/07/2024)

Joint statement by Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President and Competition Commissioner, European Commission; Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive Officer, U.K. Competition and Markets Authority; Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; and Lina M. Khan, Chair, U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
"As competition authorities for the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, we share a commitment to the interests of our people and economies. Guided by our respective laws, we will work to ensure effective competition and the fair and honest treatment of consumers and businesses. This is grounded in the knowledge that fair, open, and competitive markets will help unlock the opportunity, growth and innovation that these technologies could provide". [...]

Initial clarifications on the application of Article 4(1), Article 6 and Article 27(1) of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (26/07/2024)

How should the concept of market distortion for a foreign subsidy be interpreted? You can read about this and other Q&A on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation in the Commission Staff Working Document just published.
The new Staff Working Document offers initial clarifications on the following:

• Distortion in the internal market caused by a foreign subsidy;
• Application of the balancing test;
• Assessment of distortion in public procurement procedures.

Call for tenders for a study of interoperability tools in the digital single market (25/06/2024)

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.

Bytedance v Commission (17/07/2024)

The Commission takes note of today’s judgement of the General Court. With this ruling, the Court confirmed the Commission's decision to designate ByteDance as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act with respect to its TikTok online social networking service.
The Commission will now carefully study the judgement.
We will continue working with ByteDance, like all other gatekeepers, to ensure full compliance with the Digital Markets Act.
See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

State aid – review of rules on exemptions for small amounts of aid (de minimis aid) in agriculture (07/06/2024)

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.