On 6 July 2017, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has rejected Toshiba’s appeal against the judgment of the General Court of 19 January 2016 and upheld the €61.44 million fine imposed by the Commission against Toshiba (of which €4.65 million jointly and severally with Mitsubishi) for its participation in the gas insulated switchgear (“GIS”)…
On June 21, 2017, the European Commission has fined Automotive Lighting and Hella a total of €26.744.000 for participating in an automotive lighting cartel. The cartel concerned the supply of vehicle lighting systems, that include parts such as headlamps or daytime running lights, to manufacturers of passenger and commercial vehicles after the end of mass…
On June 20, the European Commission has adopted an amending decision concerning the Spanish raw tobacco cartel. In 2004, the Commission fined five companies active in the Spanish raw tobacco market a total of €20 million for fixing the prices paid to, and the quantities bought from, tobacco growers in Spain. World Wide Tobacco España…
The European Commission has readopted a cartel settlement decision against the envelopes manufacturer Printeos and it has re-imposed a fine of €4,729,000 for its participation in a price fixing cartel. In December 2014, in order to close the Commission’s investigation, Printeos and four other manufacturers entered into a settlement agreement. However, in December 2016…
The Austrian Cartel Court fined De’Longhi-Kenwood with EUR 650.000 for fixing prices with retailers, restricting cross-border trade and introducing a full blown online-distribution-prohibition. In the years 2006-2015 staff of De’Longhi-Kenwood observed the market multiple-times during the week and pressured retailers through immediate contacts (via email or telephone conversations) when price-discrepancies from the established minimum-prices were…
On 1 February 2017, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) formally opened an investigation into Telecom Italy S.p.A. and Fastweb S.p.A. agreements for a possible violation of Art. 101 TFEU. The investigation concerns the agreement with which the undertakings in question created a joint cooperative company, called Flash Fiber Srl, for the construction of optical fiber…
In the press release published on 2 February 2017, the Commission has announced the opening of the formal proceedings that aim to verify the existence of anticompetitive online sales practices concerning consumer electronics, video games and hotel accommodation. The investigations are conducted in the context of Article 101 TFEU that prohibits anti-competitive agreements between companies.…
On 27 September 2016, the Commission has sent the Statement of Objections to the International Skating Union (ISU) in the context of the ISU Eligibility rules relating to the participation of athletes in the international speed skating events. The preliminary findings indicate that the rules, which set out that penalties should be imposed on the…
On 8 Setptember 2016, the General Court handed down its judgment in the Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries and Ranbaxy v Commission case, confirming the fines imposed by the Commission´s decision in 2013. The Court agreed that the agreement under scrutiny resulted in a restriction of competition by object. But firsts things first, the case regards the…
With a judgment rendered on 28 June 2016 (Joint Cases T-208/13 and T-216/13), the General Court dismissed, almost in their entirety, the actions brought by PT and Telefónica against the decision by which the Commission, in 2013, and sanctioned the two incumbent operators in the area of electronic communications for a market-sharing agreement, enacted through a…