Industries

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.

On September 20, 2019, the FCO prohibited SAKRET Trockenbaustoffe Europa GmbH & Co. KG (“SAKRET Europe”) from continuing to undertake distribution activities for its shareholders and sublicensees of the SAKRET brand regarding the sale of dry building materials.[1] In doing so, the FCO revoked an exemption it had granted back in 1982.

On September 18, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a decision[1] finding that Com Metodi S.p.A. (“Com Metodi”), Sintesi S.p.A. (“Sintesi”), Igeam S.r.l., Igeamed S.r.l. and Igeam Academy S.r.l. (jointly, “Igeam”) participated in a cartel affecting the outcome of the open tender procedure for the provision of integrated health and safety management services in the workplace at Italian public administrations, launched by Consip S.p.A. (“Consip”), the central purchasing agency owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in December 2015 (the “SIC 4 Tender” and the “Decision”, respectively).

On September 18, 2019, the Monopolies Commission published its biennial sector report on the development of competition in the German electricity and gas markets.[1] The report identifies three main areas of competition concerns: (i) monopolistic tendencies in connection with the expansion of e-mobility, (ii) insufficient competition for onshore wind energy tenders, and (iii) potential abusive pricing practices in electricity wholesale trading:

Following a public consultation launched in July 2019,[1] the Commission adopted a guidance document[2] on the protection of confidential information in proceedings for the private enforcement of EU competition law based on the Antitrust Damages Directive (“ADD”).[3] The Confidentiality Guidance is intended for use by national courts to ensure consistency across Member States regarding access to and the protection of confidential information disclosed in private enforcement proceedings. The Communication is not binding and does not modify the rules applicable in different Member States, but rather outlines a number of measures and tools national courts may employ to help protect confidential information.

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.

On September 16, 2019, the TAR Lazio rejected the application for annulment filed by MP Silva S.r.l. (“MP Silva”) against an ICA decision that had denied the applicant access to the file in an Article 101 TFEU investigation.[1]

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.