Competition Law Newsletter March 2021

The General Court issues the first two judgments in Ryanair's State aid saga

The General Court has dismissed Ryanair's challenges against the European Commission's approval of French and Swedish State aid measures to support airlines during COVID-19.

EU Commission accepts commitments from Aspen to address excessive pricing in pharma case

The European Commission has accepted commitments from Aspen following an abuse of dominance investigation into excessive pricing for cancer medicines.

The Court of Justice rules on double jeopardy in the Slovak Telekom abuse of dominance case

The ECJ has handed down a preliminary ruling on the division of competences between NCAs and the European Commission in concurrent proceedings.

Shipping firm fined $24 million by Australian court for criminal cartel conduct

The Federal Court of Australia has imposed Australia's third sentence for criminal cartel conduct since criminal sanctions were introduced in 2009.

French Supreme Court upholds 2019 fine reduction granted in flour cartel

The French Supreme Court has confirmed the approach to determining the involvement of a cartelist that attended one of four collusive meetings.

French Commercial Court makes abuse of dominance ruling in the search-related online advertising market

The fact that the plaintiff commenced a stand-alone action did not prevent the French Commercial Court from relying on previous findings of the FCA.

German competition authority fines steel forgers €35 million for information exchange

The German Federal Cartel Office's decision demonstrates the competition law risks that can arise during trade association meetings.

Hong Kong hotel groups and tour operator reprimanded for facilitating cartel conduct

This is the first time that the HKCC has taken enforcement action against parties for facilitating cartel conduct.

Hong Kong Competition Tribunal fines decoration contractors for price fixing

The conduct involved allocating customers and coordinating pricing, and is the fourth cartel case brought since the Ordinance came into force in 2015.

Competition Appeal Board reduces record fine for cartel conduct

Fines imposed by the Consumer Commission of Singapore were reduced by up to 70% for cartel conduct relating to the distribution of fresh chicken.

Pharmaceutical cartel sanctioned by the Spanish Competition Authority

The CNMC has fined two pharmaceutical companies, and two company directors, for anti-competitive practices in relation to public tenders.

The Penrose Report - "Power To The People. Stronger Consumer Choice and Competition - So markets work for people, not the other way round"

The report sets out the recommendations of John Penrose MP on how the UK's approach to competition and consumer law issues could be improved upon.

CMA keeps it fresh with updated Digital Markets Strategy

Guidance for UK businesses on sustainability agreements

Designing a UK subsidy control regime

The UK Government has published a consultation paper outlining the proposals for a new subsidy control regime in the UK.