In a press release dated December 15, 2021, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) announced the opening of a public consultation on Google’s proposed commitments in the “related rights” case. These commitments seek to address the preliminary competition concerns expressed by the FCA Investigation Services, who are still pursuing the proceedings on the merits following an interim measures decision issued in April 2020.
On December 14, the Commission conditionally approved the proposed acquisition of Suez by Veolia (“the Transaction”) following review in Phase I.[1]
On December 9, 2021, Advocate General (“AG”) Rantos delivered his opinion on the questions referred to the Court of Justice (“ECJ”) by the Italian Consiglio di Stato in case Servizio Elettrico Nazionale.[1] The Consiglio di Stato is seeking clarification of certain aspects of the concept of “abuse” under Article 102 TFEU.
Introduction
On December 9, 2021, the Commission published its Draft Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements regarding working conditions of solo self-employed people (the “Draft Guidelines”).[1] The Draft Guidelines, along with a proposal for a directive[2] and a communication,[3] form part of a broader package aimed at improving the working conditions of persons operating on digital labor platforms.[4]
On December 9, 2021, the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) imposed a €100,000 fine on Mayotte Channel Gateway (“MCG”), the manager and operator of the Longoni port in Mayotte, together with its parent company, Société Nel Import Export, for refusal to comply with an FCA request for information.
On December 7, 2021, the Commission, the United States Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division (“DOJ”) published a Joint Statement establishing the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (the “Policy Dialogue”).
On 6 December 2021, the CAT published a ruling on permission to appeal and costs, following its earlier judgement that refused to strike out collective proceedings brought by Mr. Justin Gutmann against London & South Eastern Railway and South Western Trains, Stagecoach South Western Trains.
Cleary Gottlieb partners Romano Subiotto QC and Robbert Snelders, in collaboration with our Antitrust practice, are thrilled to present
In a ruling dated December 2, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeals overturned a 2010 decision in which the French Competition Authority (the “FCA”) had fined 11 major French banks for colluding on check handling fees, possibly bringing the 11-year saga to an end. The ruling confirms that the concept of by-object restriction should be interpreted restrictively, in line with a judgment issued by the French Cour de cassation in the same case in 2020.