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On September 2, 2021,[1] the Paris Court of Appeals annulled in its entirety a decision issued by the FCA in April 2020, which fined betting operator Pari Mutuel Urbain (“PMU”) for non-compliance with unbundling commitments that had been made mandatory in 2014[2]. The Court held that, contrary to the FCA’s findings, PMU had been consistently complying with its commitments. The 900 million euros fine imposed on PMU was consequently annulled.

On September 1, 2021, the Monopolies Commission published its 8th Energy Sector Report focusing inter alia on competition for electric vehicle charging points.[1]  Just one month later, the German Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) published its interim report on its sector inquiry into the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.[2]

In September 2021, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced the official launch of the Office for the Internal Market (OIM), a new unit within the CMA intended to support the effective operation of the UK internal market through monitoring, publishing reports and advice, and making recommendations to the Government. This article examines (i) what the OIM does and why it was introduced; (ii) how the OIM proposes to carry out its functions; (iii) the OIM’s information gathering powers; and (iv) broader implications for UK competition policy.

On August 31, 2021,[1] the Council of State reaffirmed the position it recently took in two previous judgments regarding the calculation of fines for bid rigging cases.[2]

Between August 18 and August 23, the Council of State rejected the separate appeals filed by Babcock Mission Critical Services International S.A. (“Babcock International”), Heliwest S.r.l. (“Heliwest”), Elitellina S.r.l. (“Elitellina”), Eliossola S.r.l. (“Eliossola”) and Associazione Elicotteristica Italiana (“AEI” and, jointly with Babcock International, Heliwest, Elitellina and Eliossola, the “Parties”) against judgments issued by the Regional Administrative Tribunal of Lazio (“TAR Lazio”), which had confirmed a 2019 ICA decision.

On 18 August 2021, the CAT certified its first follow-on class action under the UK’s collective action regime. Walter Merricks’ application for certification was initially refused in 2017. But following appeals up to the Supreme Court, the CAT reconsidered his application in light of the now-established criteria for certification, as clarified by the Supreme Court in its 11 December 2020 judgment.[1] This article sets out the background to the CAT’s decision on remittal, summarises the CAT’s main findings, and provides observations on possible implications.

On July 30, 2021, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) published its revised Fining Guidelines, which repealed and replaced the 2011 guidelines.[1] In June, the FCA had opened a public consultation on a draft, which provided for different changes of the method of calculation of fines. While the Guidelines as published have retained those changes, they also include several more minor ones resulting from the public consultation.