On August 5, 2022, the Italian Parliament adopted Law No. 118, the “2021 Annual Competition Law” (the “ACL”). The ACL, which will enter into force on August 27, 2022, amends the Italian Competition Law (Law No. 287/90) in various respects.
Chambers Merger Control 2022 Global Practice Guide: UK
Cleary Gottlieb partners Nicholas Levy, Paul Gilbert, and Jackie Holland and associate Courtney Olden co-authored the “UK” chapter of the
New UK Framework for Vertical Agreements Finalised
Illumina/Grail: General Court Upholds EC’s Merger Referral Policy, Expanding EC Jurisdiction Over Non-reportable Transactions
In a significant judgment rendered on July 13, 2022 (“Judgment”), the EU’s General Court validated the position taken by the European Commission (“EC”) in a March 2021 Guidance Paper encouraging national competition authorities (“NCAs”) to use Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”) to refer transactions to the EC that do not meet national merger control thresholds, but which they believe may threaten to significantly affect competition within the EU.
EU Regulation on Distortive Foreign Subsidies Set for Adoption
On 30 June 2022, the EU institutions reached political agreement on a new regulation which will allow the European Commission to control non-EU government subsidies given to businesses active in the EU (the “Regulation”).
Lithuanian Railways: Advocate General Rantos Rejects the Essential Facilities Doctrine
On July 7, 2022, Advocate General Rantos delivered his Opinion in Lietuvos geležinkeliai v Commission, Lithuanian Railways’ appeal against a General Court judgment partially upholding a decision by the Commission finding that it had infringed Article 102 TFEU by removing 19 km of train tracks.[1] The Commission concluded that this conduct prevented a major customer from switching to Latvian Railways’ rival transportation services.
The French Competition Authority publishes its annual report for 2021: a record year in terms of number of merger control decisions
On July 6, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its annual report for the year 2021.[1] In particular, the report highlights (i) the key figures of the FCA activity in 2021, (ii) the reinforced investigative powers of the FCA and (iii) the roadmap for 2022-2023.
Vestager 2: What’s Going on in EU Antitrust Enforcement
In her second term as EU Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager’s focus to date has been on securing approval for the
ICA imposes fine in excess of € 3.6 million on the outgoing providers of local public transport service by road in Tuscany
On June 21, 2022, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) closed its investigation pursuant to Article 102 TFEU into the conduct of the incumbent providers of the local public transport service by road in the Tuscany Region (the “Region”), which jointly formed the ONE Scarl consortium (“ONE”).
The Italian Competition Authority Fines Ferry Operator For Excessive Pricing
The Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) fined ferry operator Caronte & Tourist (“C&T”) €3.7 million for having charged excessive prices on a ferry transportation route between Sicily and Calabria between 2017 and 2019 (the “Decision”).