Italy

On May 20, 2019, the Commission carried out dawn raids at the premises of two grocery retailers in France, Casino and Intermarché-Les Mousquetaires.[1] On the same day, the Belgian Competition Authority raided Carrefour and Provera, a joint purchasing venture of grocery retailers Cora, Match, and Louis Delhaize. Although the two series of dawn raids occurred simultaneously, the Commission’s press release leaves open whether the raids were coordinated.

On April 29, 2019, the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Latium (“TAR Lazio”) upheld[1] the appeals submitted by five radio taxi companies against infringement decisions issued by the ICA in the context of two parallel proceedings for alleged vertical restraints (“Decisions”).[2]

On April 17, 2019, the ICA found that 19 undertakings allegedly participated in a cartel that affected the outcome of the so-called “Facility Management 4” tender procedure, the biggest European public tender for the provision of cleaning and maintenance services for public offices ever to be launched in Italy (by Consip, the central purchasing agency owned by the Ministry for Economy and Finance).[1] The said tender was divided in 18 geographical lots and had a total value of approximately €2.7 billion.

On April 10, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”) levied a fine of € 1.1 million on SAD – Trasporto Locale S.p.A. (“SAD”), a company entrusted by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (“APB”) with the provision of suburban public passenger land transport services in the Bolzano area, for an alleged infringement of Article 102 TFEU.[1] According to the ICA, SAD abused its dominant position on the local market for suburban public passenger land transport services, by refusing to provide the APB with information necessary to carry out a public tender procedure for the assignment of transport services in the Alto Adige region.

On March 13, 2019, Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, alleging a breach of Article 102 TFEU. The complaint touches on many of the issues surrounding digital platforms that have been a key focus for the Commission in recent years. In particular, there are parallels with the allegations in Google Shopping, that Google abused its platform dominance in general search to benefit its comparison shopping service.

On March 7, 2019, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) made legally binding the commitments offered by Monte Titoli S.p.A. (“Monte Titoli”), a subsidiary of Borsa Italiana (which belongs to the London Stock Exchange), active in the post-trading sector.[1] Monte Titoli’s commitments were found to address adequately the ICA’s concerns that the company may have infringed Article 102 TFEU by abusing its dominant position on the securities trading settlement market in order to squeeze competitors’ margins in the custody services market.

On January 30, 2019, the ICA found that four companies rigged a public tender for regional waste collection and disposal.[1] According to the ICA, the collusion was facilitated by the intervention of a third-party consulting firm, which encouraged and coordinated the parties’ collusive behavior. In line with EU precedent, the ICA imposed a fine also on the facilitator.[2]

On December 20, 2018, the ICA adopted its final decision in the car financing case (“Decision”).[1] The ICA, which had initiated its investigation following a leniency application, found certain captive banks of automotive groups operating in Italy liable for a single, complex and continuous infringement that allegedly took place from 2003 to 2017. The ICA issued a record-breaking fine against the investigated companies of approximately €670 million in total.