On October 10, 2019, the Working Group on Competition Law held its annual meeting in Bonn. The FCO and more than 120 competition law experts discussed revisions to the European Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”)[1] in light of the digital transformation of the economy.[2] In preparation for this meeting, the FCO had published a comprehensive background paper,[3] setting out the need for adaption and possible adjustments to the VBER to address online distribution and other challenges posed by the digital transformation of the economy.
The Court of Salerno Declares Null and Void in Its Entirety a Guarantee Agreement Containing Clauses From an Anticompetitive Form
On October 2, 2019, the Court of Salerno declared null and void in its entirety a guarantee agreement containing standard clauses based on a form by the Italian Banking Association (the “ABI”), which had been held anticompetitive by a decision of the Bank of Italy.[1]
CMA’s Increasing Enforcement Of Document Requests In Merger Review
There is a global trend of increasingly burdensome demands by competition authorities conducting merger review for the submission of merging parties’ internal documents, and the CMA is no exception. In recent months the CMA has also taken greater steps to enforce such requests, in particular by fining companies for failing to comply with formal requests for documents under Section 109 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (“Section 109 Notices”).
The General Court Renders Two Rulings Relating to the Transparency of the Commission Imposed Cartels Fines
On September 24, 2019, the General Court annulled a €33.6 million fine imposed on HSBC for its participation in the euro interest rate derivatives cartel,[1] and on the same day the General Court rejected Printeos’ appeal against the re-imposed fine for its participation in the envelope cartel.[2] Both cases relate to the methodology the Commission applied in calculating the fines and its transparency in that regard.
French Competition Authority Launches Consultation on Revised Merger Guidelines
On September 16, 2019, the French competition authority (“FCA”) launched a two-month public consultation on revised merger guidelines (“the draft guidelines”), which constitutes the final step of the modernization and simplification of merger control the FCA had initiated in the fall of 2017. This overhaul of the FCA’s merger control guidelines aims to extend the scope of the simplified procedure, update the 2013 guidelines with recent case law and the FCA’s exchanges with the European Commission and other national competition authorities, while reorganizing the guidelines and enriching them with examples. The public consultation was open until November 16, 2019. The new guidelines are scheduled to be adopted before the end of the year.
Vigorous Antitrust Enforcement Likely To Continue During Margrethe Vestager’s Second Term as Competition Commissioner
Margrethe Vestager has been re-appointed as Commissioner for Competition for a second term. If her appointment is approved by the European Parliament, as is expected, she would be in line for a combined 10-year term, which would make her the longest-serving Competition Commissioner. In addition to the competition portfolio, Ms. Vestager will also take on responsibility for the “a Europe fit for the digital age” agenda, and has been designated as one of the executive vice-presidents of the Commission.
Roadmap For The Evaluation Of The Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations Open For Comments
Merricks v Mastercard
On 25 July 2019, the Supreme Court granted Mastercard permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s judgment of April 2019.
Credit Suisse v HRMC
On 19 July 2019, the High Court dismissed an action for damages brought by Credit Suisse and others against HM
Commission Publishes 2018 Annual Activity Report
On July 15, 2019, the Commission published its annual report on competition policy, setting out the Commission’s main policy and legislative initiatives, and key decisions adopted in 2018.