Introduction

On November 13, 2024, the General Court dismissed three appeals against the European Commission’s decision conditionally approving Vodafone’s acquisition of Liberty Global’s cable business assets in four EU Member States.[1]  Deutsche Telekom, NetCologne, and Tele Columbus brought actions before the General Court seeking the annulment of the Commission’s clearance decision, arguing that the Commission should not have cleared Vodafone’s acquisition subject to behavioral commitments.

On November 13, 2024, the General Court ruled in Case T-141/23 that the Commission failed to meet its obligations under Regulation 2015/1589 (“State aid Procedural Regulation” or “Regulation”),[1] which governs the application of Article 108 TFEU on State aid review in the EU.[2]  The General Court held that the Commission’s inaction regarding alleged illegal aid granted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands (“the Netherlands”) to Dutch beam trawlers with pulsed electric currents – prior to the formal ban on electric fishing in the EU in July 2021– constituted a failure to act.

On October 29, 2024, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) imposed a fine totalling €470 million on manufacturers and distributors of low-voltage electrical equipment (the “Decision”) for vertical resale price fixing.[1]  The FCA sanctioned two vertical price agreements (i) between Schneider Electric and its distributors Rexel and Sonepar implemented from December 2012 to September 2018, and (ii) between Legrand and its distributor Rexel from May 2012 and September 2015.

On October 4, 2024, following two annulments,[1] the Court of Justice confirmed the Commission’s second readoption of its decision to fine Italian manufacturers of reinforcing steel bars for a price-fixing cartel.  While dismissing all other pleas, the Court of Justice found that the Commission had breached the principle of equal treatment by granting two manufacturers different fine discounts per year of their non-participation in the cartel.[2]  To rectify the unequal treatment, the Court of Justice reduced Ferriere Nord’s fine from €2,237,000 to €2,165,000.

On October 4, 2024, the Court of Justice delivered its preliminary ruling in a case involving Federation Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”) and a former professional football player.[1]  The Court of Justice found that certain provisions within FIFA’s transfer rules, specifically those related to the termination of player contracts, had the same effect as no-poach agreements and, therefore, constituted “by-object” infringements of EU competition law.

On September 24, 2024, the European Commission (EC) conditionally approved, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the acquisition of PPF Telecom Group (PPF) by Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (e&).[1]  The EC’s clearance is subject to commitments valid for 10 years, which may be extended by another 5 years.  This is the EC’s first Phase II conditional clearance decision under the FSR, which started to apply on July 12, 2023.[2].

On October 2, 2024, the European Commission appointed Emanuele Tarantino as new Chief Competition Economist at DG COMP.  Tarantino is expected to take office in a few weeks, coinciding with Teresa Ribera’s arrival as the new Commissioner for Competition. 

On October 2, 2024, the General Court dismissed Crown’s and Silgan’s respective appeals[1] against a 2022 Commission decision imposing a total fine of €31.5 million for participating in a cartel concerning the sales of metal cans and closures in Germany between 2011 and 2014.[2]  The judgments serve as a reminder of the General Court’s tendency to defer to the Commission’s cartel enforcement practice, including on the conditions for accepting case referrals from national competition authorities, particularly in cases that were initially settled by the applicants.