Industries

On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice affirmed the judgement of the General Court in the Nexans v Commission, which upheld the Commission’s decision in the Power Cables cartel case.[1] In its judgment, the Court of Justice clarified the scope of the Commission’s inspection powers in antitrust proceedings under Article 20 of Regulation No. 1/2003.

On July 16, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a €93 million fine on 12 manufacturers for their participation in a cartel in the ham and cold meat sector.[1] The FCA started its investigation in 2012, following a complaint from a slaughterhouse and a leniency application by Campofrio, a cold meat manufacturer. The FCA subsequently conducted dawn raids at the 12 cold meat manufacturers’ premises in 2013.

On July 14, 2020, the Commission invited interested parties to comment on commitments offered by Aspen Pharma.[1] The commitments came following a Commission investigation opened on May 15, 2017 into excessive pricing for six life-saving cancer medications that Aspen purchased in 2009.[2]

On July 9, 2020, the Commission published its annual report on competition policy, setting out the Commission’s main policy and legislative initiatives, as well as key decisions adopted in 2019.[1]

On July 9, 2020, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) launched a sector inquiry on the provision and marketing of public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.[1]  While the market is still in its early phase and emerging, the FCO received multiple complaints about prices and conditions at charging stations.

On July 8, 2020, the Paris Court of Appeals (“Court of Appeals”) fully annulled a May 2014 search warrant and subsequent dawn raids carried out at Whirlpool France’s premises (“Whirlpool”).[1] The Court of Appeals also ordered the FCA to return all of Whirlpool’s seized documents.