On July 31, 2020, the Council of State upheld a judgment[1] in which the TAR Lazio confirmed an ICA decision rejecting a request to review the amount of a cartel fine imposed on Industria Meccanica Varricchio – I.Me.Va. S.p.A. (“I.Me.Va.”) in 2012.[2]
The TAR Lazio Quashes an ICA Decision Fining Alleged Bid-rigging Practices in Integrated Health and Safety Management
On July 27, 2020, the TAR Lazio annulled an ICA decision of September 2019, which fined Com Metodi S.p.A. (“Com Metodi”), Sintesi S.p.A. (“Sintesi”), and Igeam S.r.l., Igeamed S.r.l. and Igeam Academy S.r.l. (jointly, “Igeam”) (together, the “Companies”) for participating in an alleged cartel which affected the outcome of the open tender procedure for the provision of integrated health and safety management services in the workplaces at Italian Public Administrations, launched by Consip S.p.A. (“Consip”) in December 2015 (the “SIC 4 Tender”).[1]
The TAR Lazio Annuls the 2019 ICA Decision Concerning an Alleged Bid-rigging Cartels in Facility Maintenance Services
On July 27, 2020, the TAR Lazio delivered 15 judgments concerning the 2019 ICA decision, by which 19 companies were found liable for participating in a cartel aimed at rigging a tender procedure in the facility maintenance sector in Italy (the “Decision”).[1]
The TAR Lazio delivered two sets of rulings: on the one hand, it quashed the Decision with respect to three of the addressee companies;[2] on the other hand, with respect to the 12 other applicants, it upheld the finding of infringement, but ordered the ICA to re-determine the fines originally imposed on them.[3]
The Council of State Confirms the Reduction by 60% Of the Fines Imposed by the ICA on the Members of an Alleged Cartels in the Ready-mix Concrete Sector
On July 24, 2020, the Council of State upheld three judgments issued by the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio (the “TAR Lazio”) in 2017,[1] which reduced by 60% the amount of the fines imposed by the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”)[2] in 2015 on three firms operating in the area of Belluno, in the Veneto Region (namely, Superbeton S.p.A., F.lli Romor S.r.l. and F.lli De Pra S.p.A., together the “Companies”). In contrast, the Council of State dismissed the cross-appeals submitted by the Companies that aimed to challenge the ICA’s finding of infringement.[3]
Council of State Quashes TAR Lazio Judgment That Overturned the ICA Decision Imposing Commitments on Sky After the Withdrawal of Its Notification of the Acquisition of R2
In a judgment issued in a simplified form on June 4, 2020,[1] the Council of State quashed the TAR Lazio judgment that had overturned the ICA decision of May 20, 2019, concerning the acquisition of sole control of R2 S.r.l. (“R2”) by Sky Italia S.r.l. (“Sky”).[2] The judgment was given on the merits of the case although it was adopted within the interim phase of the proceedings, pursuant to Article 60 of the Italian Administrative Proceedings Code. The parties were not previously informed of the Council of State’s decision to provide its final judgment in this phase, based on a temporary rule introduced during the Covid-19 emergency that enables the court to omit any advanced notice of this decision.
Council of State Overturns TAR Lazio Judgments That Quashed an ICA Infringement Decision Regarding an Alleged Parallel Network of Anticompetitive Vertical Agreements Between Radio Taxi Companies and Drivers Active in Milan
On June 4, 2020,[1] the Council of State overturned TAR Lazio judgments that had upheld the appeals submitted by three radio taxi companies against an infringement decision issued by the ICA, regarding an alleged parallel network of anticompetitive vertical agreements between radio taxi companies and drivers active in Milan (the “Decision”).[2]
The ICA Opens Investigation Into Italgas for Alleged Abuse of Dominance
On May 27, 2020, the ICA opened an investigation pursuant to Article 102 TFEU into the conduct of Italgas Reti S.p.A. (“Italgas”), a fully-owned subsidiary of Italgas S.p.A.[1] The supply of gas distribution services in Italy is organized by areas comprising small groups of municipalities, called ‘minimum territorial areas’ (“ATEM”s).[2] In the ICA’s view, Italgas abused the dominant position it holds in the Venice ATEM market, comprising eight municipalities, in which it is currently the exclusive licensee of the gas distribution services in four municipalities (including Venice).
The TAR Lazio Upholds ICA Decision Concerning the Helicopter Service Cartels
On May 18, 2020,[1] the TAR Lazio rejected the applications for annulment of the ICA decision of February 13, 2019, brought by Airgreen S.r.l., Star Work Sky S.a.s., Elitellina S.r.l., Elifriulia S.r.l., Babcock Mission Critical Services Italia Sau, Heliwest S.r.l., Eliossola S.r.l. and the Italian Helicopter Association. By the said decision, the applicants were fined in a total amount of approx. €67,000,000 for anticompetitive conduct infringing Article 101 TFEU with regard to the award of contracts for forest fire-fighting activities.[2]
The ICA Opens Phase II Investigation Into Intesa San Paolo/Ubi Merger
On May 11, 2020, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) adopted a decision to open an in-depth (“Phase II”) investigation into the proposed concentration between Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. (“ISP”) and UBI Banca – Unione di Banche Italiane S.p.A. (“UBI”; the “Decision”).[1]
The Council of State Annuls an ICA Decision That Fined the Italian National Lawyers’ Council for Failure to Comply With a Previous Infringement Decision
On April 30, 2020,[1] the Council of State confirmed the annulment of a decision issued by the ICA in 2016,[2] which had fined the Italian National Lawyers’ Council (Consiglio Nazionale Forense, the “CNF”) for failure to comply with a 2014 infringement decision.[3]
The Judgment sheds light on the procedural rules the ICA should follow in proceedings regarding alleged failure to comply with previous infringement decisions.