On January 27, 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) accepted Lego’s commitments, thereby closing a five-year long investigation into the discount policy applied to distributors by the building games manufacturer.[1] Lego committed to redefine the criteria of its discount scheme to allow online distributors to obtain the same level of discount as brick-and-mortar distributors.
German Government Proposes Significant Reform of Competition Law
On January 24, 2020, the German Ministry for Economic Affairs published a draft proposal for the 10th Amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (“Draft Proposal”). Its main objectives are (i) to enable and strengthen the protection of competition in digital markets, (ii) to make German competition law and its enforcement more efficient in general, and (iii) to implement the ECN+ Directive[1].
FCO Imposes Further Cartels Fines
On December 19, 2019, the FCO imposed fines of €195,000 on four German suppliers of liquid gas for geographic market sharing between 2006 and 2016.[1] In setting the fines, the FCO notably considered the low impact of the cartel arrangements due to the suppliers’ small market shares.
FCO Clears Joint Venture of Telekom and EWE for Fiber-optic Deployment Following Commitments
FCO Finds No Market Dominance in the Electricity Generation Sector
On December 19, 2019, the FCO published its first report on market power in the electricity generation sector (“Market Power Report”).[1] The report is intended to provide market participants with more legal clarity as to their own position in the market, thereby complementing the recently published FCO/FNA Guidelines on the control of abusive behavior in the electricity generation and wholesale trade sector[2].
The FCO’s Activities in 2019
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.
FCO Finds No Market Dominance in the Electricity Generation Sector in Second Market Power Report
On December 28, 2020, the FCO published its second report on market power for the electricity generation sector (“Market Power Report”)[1] one year earlier than statutorily required, because the FCO considered the imminent phase-out of nuclear and coal energy could affect the position of the market leader RWE.
FCO Blocks 3-To-2 Merger of Cash Handling Service Providers
On December 18, 2019, the FCO prohibited cash handling service provider Loomis AB’s acquisition of its competitor Ziemann Sicherheit Holding GmbH (“Ziemann”).[1] Loomis AB and Ziemann are the third and second-largest cash handling service providers in a number of regional markets in the west and north of Germany behind market leader Prosegur.
FCO Fines Steel Manufacturers for Price Fixing
On December 12, 2019, the FCO imposed fines of €646 million on steel manufacturers Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG, voestalpine Grobblech GmbH and three individuals for price fixing.[1] A fourth manufacturer, Dillinger Hüttenwerke, was granted immunity from fines for cooperation under the leniency notice.
Monopoly Commission Publishes 11th Sector Report Into Telecommunication
On December 3, 2019, the Monopoly Commission published the eleventh edition of its biennial sector report on telecommunications markets.[1] The report observes that the state has to intervene increasingly in the telecommunications markets because investments of private telecommunication companies do not meet the political networks development targets in Germany. The Monopoly Commission advises that subsidies should be moderate and targeted to areas where development by private parties is insufficient in order to minimize crowding out of private investments.