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On March 26, 2021, the French Conseil constitutionnel ruled that Article L. 464-2(5), 2° of the French Commercial Code, under which the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) may impose a fine of up to 1% of an undertaking’s turnover for obstructing an investigation, was contrary to the French Constitution.[1]

On March 26, 2021, the Commission adopted a Communication on the application of the referral mechanism pursuant to Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”)[1] and announced a further simplification of merger control proceedings,[2] effective immediately.

On 18 March, the CMA published new Merger Assessment Guidelines (the New Guidelines). Under the New Guidelines, the CMA will adopt a more flexible approach to the substantive assessment of mergers, particularly in digital markets. The New Guidelines also suggest the CMA will look to intervene in mergers where market shares are low or where the evidence of anticompetitive effects is slim.

On February 10, 2021, the Dortmund Regional Court set out principles for determining jurisdiction, specifically in competition damages litigation.[1]

In connection with the forthcoming transposition of Directive No. 2019/1 (the “ECN+ Directive”), which exposes professional associations to higher fines for anti-competitive practices, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) has published a study on how competition law applies to professional associations and made a number of practical recommendations.[1]

In four judgments issued on December 28 to 30, 2020,[1] the Council of State upheld four rulings of the Lazio Regional Administrative Court (“TAR Lazio”),[2] which had set aside an infringement decision issued by the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) against the Italian top tier football league (Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A, “Lega”), its advisor Infront Italy S.r.l. (“Infront”), and TV broadcasters Sky Italia S.r.l. (“SKY”), Reti Televisive Italiane S.p.A. and its subsidiary Mediaset Premium S.p.A. (jointly, “Mediaset”; together with Lega, Infront and Sky, the “Parties”), regarding an alleged anticompetitive agreement to alter the award of TV broadcasting rights for Lega’s 2015-2018 seasons (the “ICA Decision”).[3] The Council of State confirmed that the ICA failed to prove that broadcasters colluded with Lega and Infront over the assignment of broadcasting rights.

On December 23, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) presented a summary report of its 2020 activity and set out its priorities for 2021.[1]

On December 16, 2020, the General Court partially annulled the Commission’s decision in the International Skating Union’s Eligibility rules case.[1] The General Court upheld the Commission’s finding that the International Skating Union’s (“ISU”) eligibility rules (“Eligibility Rules”), which prescribed severe penalties on participants of third-party events not authorized by the ISU, were in breach of Article 101 TFEU.

On December 14, 2020, six years after the adoption of the Damages Directive,[1] the Commission published a report[2] analyzing its implementation across Member States.[3] The Damages Directive was introduced to harmonize the procedural rules for antitrust damages actions.

Over the past several months, there have been a number of statements by politicians and Member State governments regarding the reform of EU competition law. Much of this debate is fundamentally linked to how authorities should define the relevant product and geographic markets that guide their antitrust and merger investigations.