Industries

On June 7, 2019, the TAR Lazio rejected the appeal filed by Società Cooperativa Taxi Torino (“Taxi Torino”) against the interim measures adopted by the ICA on November 29, 2018, in an investigation concerning an alleged abuse in the market for taxi demand management services in Turin.[1]

On June 4, 2019, the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals (“DCA”) annulled the FCO’s 2015 decision prohibiting hotel booking platform operator Booking Holdings (“Booking.com”) from using narrow most favored nation (“MFN”) clauses.[1] The DCA’s decision aligns the German position with that of other European national competition authorities (“NCAs”). However, new causes of divergence—stemming from legislative interventions—are already emerging.

On June 4, 2019, the TAR Lazio upheld a decision issued by the ICA in 2018, which had fined the Italian Football Federation (“FIGC”) for an anticompetitive agreement, consisting of the FIGC’s decision to limit access to the market for professional services provided by sports directors, sport management assistants, talent scouts and match analysts.[1]

On June 2, 2019, the Inspection générale des finances and the Conseil général de l’économie published a report on the EU competition policy and industrial strategy (the “Report”). The Report was commissioned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in December 2018 and aimed at assessing EU competition policy in the context of the 2019 European elections. The Report highlights the necessity to reshape the procedures and legal instruments used by the European Commission, in particular in merger control, to answer a number of criticisms raised by the French and German governments following the decision of the European Commission to prohibit the Alstom- Siemens merger on February 6, 2019.[1] The Report states that competition policy seems to be applied more strictly in Europe than elsewhere, including China, and that the European Union’s strategic and industrial interests should be given more consideration in competition decisions.

On May 22, 2019, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) fined the Akka Group €0.9 million for obstructing its investigations into a suspected cartel in France.[1] This decision is only the second such sanction by the FCA,[2] and the first for breaking seals.

On May 22, 2019, the Regional Administrative Court for Latium (the “TAR”) accepted in part the application for annulment of an ICA decision addressed to maritime carriers Moby and CIN, finding a violation of Article 102 TFEU (the “Decision”).[1]

On May 20, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a decision in the merger control proceedings opened in connection with Sky Italia S.r.l.’s (“SKY”) acquisition of control over R2 S.r.l. (the “Decision”).[1] Owned by Mediaset Premium S.p.A. (“MP”), R2 S.r.l. (“R2”) provides technical and administrative platform services for broadcasting by means of Digital Terrestrial Television (“DTT”).