On December 27, 2019, the FCO published a summary of its activities in 2019.[1] In 2019, the FCO imposed fines in cartel proceedings totaling approximately €848 million in five cartel proceedings, examined around 1,400 notified mergers, conducted numerous abuse of dominance proceedings (including against Facebook and Amazon), and received 104 applications for review in public procurement cases.
The European Commission Receives Feedback From National Competition Authorities on Its Review of the VBER
On December 13, 2019 the Commission published an anonymized summary of the contributions submitted by NCAs during the Commission’s ongoing evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”) and the accompanying Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (“Guidelines”), which will lapse in 2022.[1] The Commission received 20 contributions from NCAs across the EEA.[2]
Monopoly Commission Publishes Sector Report on Postal Markets
The ICA Fines Bid-Rigging Practices in the Private Security Services Sector in Italy
On November 12, 2019, the ICA issued a decision finding that Coopservice S.Coop.p.A. (“Coopservice”), Allsystem S.p.A. (“Allsystem”), Istituti di Vigilanza Riuniti S.p.A. (“IVRI”) and its parent companies Skibs S.r.l. (“Skibs”) and Gruppo Biks S.p.A. (“Biks”), Italpol Vigilanza S.r.l. (“Italpol”) and its parent company MC Holding S.r.l. (“MC Holding”), Sicuritalia S.p.A. (“Sicuritalia”) and its parent company Lomafin SGH S.p.A. (“Lomafin”) participated in a cartel affecting the outcome of several open tender procedures for the provision of private security services, launched by contracting authorities located in the regions of Lombardia, Emilia Romagna and Lazio between 2013 and 2017.[1]
Commission Opens Public Consultation On The Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations
On November 6, 2019, the Commission published a public consultation seeking input on the amendment of the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations (“Horizontal BERs”), which are set to expire on December 31, 2022, and of the Horizontal Guidelines.[1] Interested parties were given until February 12, 2020 to comment on the reform of these important instruments. The consultation is part of a wider Commission evaluation to determine whether the rules should be updated to better reflect the current economy and provide clearer guidance.
Joint Study on Algorithms by German and French Competition Authorities
On November 6, 2019, the FCO and the French Competition Authority (“ADLC”) presented a joint study on “Algorithms and Competition.”[1] The study focuses on algorithms used for dynamic price setting and their potential effects on competition, particularly in the form of collusion, and contains important insights for companies utilizing third- party algorithms.
The French National Architects Council Fined €1.5 Million for Anticompetitive Practices
On September 30, 2019, the FCA sanctioned the French National Architects Council (Ordre des architectes) for fixing prices in the context of public works contracts.
ICA Imposes Interim Measures in Abuse of Dominance Case in Market for Management of Plastic Waste Recycling Services
On October 29, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) issued a decision (the “Decision”)[1] imposing interim measures on the Italian Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging (“COREPLA”) in the framework of the investigation it opened six months earlier into COREPLA’s alleged abuse of dominant position in the market for management of plastic waste recycling services. According to the ICA, the interim measures will prevent serious and irreparable harm to competition likely to be caused by COREPLA’s conduct, which prima facie constitutes an infringement of Article 102 TFEU.
Working Group On Competition Law Discussed Changes To The European Vertical Block Exemption Regulation
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.
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”).