On April 2, 2021, Air Canada announced that it had abandoned its plan to acquire Transat, a competing operator in the market for air transport services between Canada and the EEA. The deal was notified on April 16, 2020 and after one year of discussions and repeated suspensions of the investigation by the Commission, Air Canada decided to abandon the €127 million deal.
The Conseil d’Etat Holds That It Is Not Competent To Hear an Objection Against an FCA’s Referral of a Merger to the Commission
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On April 1, 2021 the Conseil d’Etat ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to review a French Competition Authority (“FCA”) decision referring a contemplated merger to the European Commission (“Commission”) under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”).[1]
The Commission Withdraws Its 2019 Decision Imposing Binding Commitments in the PayTV Investigation
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 31, 2021, the Commission withdrew its decision which made binding—under Article 9 of Regulation No 1/2003—commitments offered by NBCUniversal, Sony, TWDC, Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros and Sky in the cross-border access to pay-TV antitrust proceedings.[1] The withdrawal follows the annulment by the Court of Justice of the Commission’s commitments decision against Paramount and its parent company Viacom[2] (the “Paramount Commitments Decision”), who had offered essentially identical commitments to those offered by the parties in the present case.
ICA Fully Dismisses Allegations of an Abuse of a Dominant Position in the Market for Maintenance of High-tech Diagnostic Imaging Devices
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 30, 2021, the Italian Competition Authority (the “ICA”) closed an investigation against three equipment manufacturers in the market for maintenance of high-tech diagnostic imaging devices, without finding any abuse of dominant position. The ICA found that the evidence collected during the investigation did not allow to confirm the allegations put forward at the beginning of the investigation.[1]
Green Light For Emergency Platform for Vaccination Equipment
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 29, 2021, the FCO cleared the way for full-line pharmaceutical wholesalers’ participation in the VCI Emergency Platform for Vaccination Equipment (“Emergency Platform”).[1]
The Conseil Constitutionnel Holds That Article L. 464-2(5), 2° of the French Commercial Code Is Contrary to the Constitution
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 26, 2021, the French Conseil constitutionnel ruled that Article L. 464-2(5), 2° of the French Commercial Code, under which the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) may impose a fine of up to 1% of an undertaking’s turnover for obstructing an investigation, was contrary to the French Constitution.[1]
Transforming European Merger Control: The Commission Specifies When It Will Seek To Review Mergers That Are Not Subject to Any Filing Requirements
By Cleary Gottlieb on
Sustainable Competition Policy and the ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle
By Maurits Dolmans on
Cleary Gottlieb partner Maurits Dolmans authored the chapter, “Sustainable Competition Policy and the ‘Polluter Pays’ Principle” in the book, Competition Law, Climate Change & Environmental Sustainability, published by Concurrences.
Essential Facilities Doctrine: No Need To Prove Indispensability for Abuse Through Unfair Access Terms
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 25, 2021,[1] the Court of Justice ruled that to demonstrate abuse, where a dominant undertaking has already offered access to its infrastructure but on unfair terms, it is not necessary to show that access to the infrastructure is indispensable within the meaning of the Court of Justice’s Bronner essential facilities doctrine.
The Court of Justice’s Lundbeck Ruling Finds Nothing New Under the Sun for By-object Restrictions
By Cleary Gottlieb on
On March 25, 2021, the Court of Justice dismissed the appeals of H. Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Limited (“Lundbeck”), as well as of certain generic drugmakers (“generics”),[1] against the General Court judgments upholding the first-ever so-called pay-for-delay Commission decision.