IN THE NEWS
AG Sharpston delivers opinion in industrial bags cartel appeals
AG Sharpston has delivered her opinions in the appeals by Groupe Gascogne SA, Gascogne Sack Deutschland GmbH and Kendrion NV against judgments of the General Court in respect of the European Commission's decision on the industrial bags cartel. AG Sharpston considered that the applicants' fundamental rights to have their cases heard by the General Court within a reasonable time had been infringed. She further considered that the ECJ should set aside the General Court's judgment, which dismissed the company's claim that the Commission had wrongly calculated the fine imposed on Gascogne Sack for the period prior to its acquisition by Groupe Gascogne. She advised that the relevant fine for the period preceding Groupe Gascogne's acquisition of Gascogne Sack should be reduced from €3.3 million to €2,078,400, however recommended that the appellants' other grounds of appeal be dismissed. Click here.
General Court delivers judgment in Omnis appeal
The General Court has delivered its judgment in an appeal by Omnis Group Srl against the European Commission's decision to reject a complaint relating to alleged anticompetitive conduct by Microsoft. The General Court rejected the appeal in its entirety, concluding that Omnis had not substantiated its arguments. The General Court held that the Commission had not erred in law in finding that there was no sufficient degree of EU interest for conducting further investigation into the alleged infringement on the grounds that Microsoft was unlikely to have a dominant position in the relevant markets. Click here.
ECJ dismisses appeal in acrylic glass cartel
The ECJ has dismissed an appeal by Quinn against the General Court's judgment on the appeal against the European Commission's decision fining them for participation in the acrylic glass cartel. The General Court had upheld part of Quinn's appeal, granting a slight reduction to the fine imposed. The ECJ rejected the proposition that the General Court had erred in the test it applied in relation to Quinn's failure to distance itself from cartel meetings. It further held that the General Court did not err in its assessment of the duration of the infringement. The ECJ also considered that there was no breach of the principles of equal treatment, legitimate expectations or proportionality in the General Court's exercise of its unlimited jurisdiction in assessing the fine imposed on Quinn. Click here.
EU
Articles 101 and 103
- The European Commission has sent a statement of objections to OPCOM S.A., the operator of the only power exchange in Romania, and its parent company CNTEE Transelectrica S.A. The Commission considers that OPCOM, by requiring that all participants on OPCOM's electricity spot markets hold a Romanian VAT registration, may be abusing its dominant position in breach of Article 102 TFEU, by discriminating against companies on the basis of their nationality or place of establishment. Click here.
- Commission Regulation 1400/2002 on the application of Article 101(3) TFEU to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices in the motor vehicle sector has been withdrawn. From 1 June 2013, the vertical agreements block exemption will apply to these agreements. Click here.
UK
Competition Appeal Tribunal
- The CAT has published details of appeals lodged by Verizon UK Limited and Vodafone Limited and by Colt Technology Services Limited, who are challenging certain aspects of Ofcom decisions in its final statement on its business connectivity market review. Click here and here.
- The CAT has published a summary of an appeal lodged by British Telecommunications plc against Ofcom's determination of disputes concerning certain of BT's tiered termination charges. Click here.
Office of Fair Trading
- The OFT has closed its investigation into the proposed acquisition by Costain Group plc of May Gurney Integrated Services plc, having received assurances from Costain Group plc that its anticipated merger with May Gurney Services plc has been abandoned as the offer has lapsed. Click here.
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