On 1st April 2020 the Commission issued practical guidance in relation to how public bodies can use the provisions of the EU public procurement rules to source goods, services and works rapidly in response to the emergency situation caused by the Coronavirus outbreak. The guidance emphasises that “ the EU public procurement legislation already provides public buyers in the EU with the ability to purchase protective equipment, medicines and ventilators quickly if needed in urgent situations. The current coronavirus crisis presents an extreme and unforeseeable urgency – precisely for such a sit ..read more

The UK Government passed emergency legislation to amend UK competition law on 27th March 2020 to help healthcare, grocery and ferry companies maintain the provision of essential goods or services to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak. The emergency legislation was in the form of three Orders which excluded certain activities from the provisions of the Chapter I prohibition under the Competition Act 1998. The Chapter I prohibition prohibits agreements or arrangements between businesses which prevent distort or restrict competition in the UK. However the Secretary of State has powers ..read more

Introduction & Summary On 21st January 2020 in a landmark decision the English Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision by the Competition & Markets Authority (“CMA”), the UK’s principal competition regulator, confirming that an absolute ban on internet sales,in the context of a selective distribution system, amounts to a restriction of competition by object and is a serious infringement of both Article 101(1) of Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) and Chapter I of Competition Act 1998. This ruling places a marker down that all blanket bans preventing distribut ..read more

On 9th December High Court heard one of the first applications to vary Company Director Disqualification Undertakings (“CDU”) given by two directors of a group of companies previously found guilty by the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA)of having engaged in cartel activity in the Design, Construction and Fit Out Sector Background The CMA is making greater use of its director disqualification powers under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 as amended by the Enterprise Act 2002. The drive to bring home personal liability for competition law breach has been reinforced by th ..read more

Introduction On 17th July 2019 the EU Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon and whether Amazon is using sensitive data it obtains from independent retailers which sell on Amazon Marketplace in breach of the EU competition rules. This formal probe had been widely expected for some time as the EU Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, had already signalled in September last year that the EU Commission was looking into Amazon’s conduct with a view to deciding whether to launch a formal investigation. This latest investigation comes alongside parallel investigation ..read more

Introduction The EU Commission has flexed its muscles yet again to enforce the competition rules in the e-commerce sector announcing on 9th July 2019 that it had fined Sanrio EUR 6.2 million for banning traders from selling licensed products featuring Hello Kitty or other characters owned by Sanrio into other countries within the EEA (Commission Press Release IP/19/3950). E-commerce and the digital markets are fast becoming one of the EU Commission’s top priorities in enforcement activities as the pan-European regulator gets to grips with the digital distribution revolution Background The ..read more

Introduction For a second time in 18 months the EU Commission has slapped a large antitrust fine on Qualcomm, the world’s largest chip manufacturer . On 18 July 2019, the European Commission announced that it has imposed a fine of EUR 242 million on Qualcomm for abusing its dominant position in  3G baseband chipsets contrary to Article 102 TFEU .  Qualcomm sold these chipsets below cost, with the aim of forcing its competitor, Icera, out of the market. It appears from the reports of the case to have succeeded in that objective.   So although the infringement was short lived over a two year per ..read more

Introduction Following recent proposals for regulatory reform (see articles here and here) in relation to competition in digital markets, the CMA published its new Digital Markets Strategy on 3 July 2019, which sets out the agency’s approach to “protecting consumers in the digital economy while ensuring robust, competitive digital markets”. The strategy outlines five strategic aims and seven priority focus areas across antitrust law and merger control, as well as consumer law. Objectives The first strategic aim is for the CMA to use its existing tools effectively and efficiently. Andrea Cosce ..read more

Perhaps this is an indication of the way things are going to be after Brexit. The Governments of Germany, France and Poland have recently published a document calling for a radical review of the EU merger rules to allow a stronger emphasis on industrial policy considerations . Remove the UK from the equation with its strong belief in competition only based assessment of mergers and more politically motived industrial policy concerns are likely to fill the vacuum. More and more they are likely to become a focus of future EU competition policy. Despite strong resistance from the EU Commission wh ..read more

Decree No. 2019-339 of 18 April 2019 (the “Decree”), simplifying formalities for the notification of a prospective concentration operation, including mergers and acquisitions, to the French Competition Authority (“FCA”), was published in the French Official Journal on 20 April 2019 and came into force the following day. This Decree is in line with the FCA’s intention to modernise concentration control, as announced by the FCA at the end of 2017. The Decree amends the annexes to the French Commercial Code setting forth the information to be provided relating to the filing of a concentration not ..read more