Competition Law Newsletter September 2020

The potential future of EU antitrust rules on vertical agreements - Commission's evaluation

On 8 September 2020, the European Commission published a working document (the "Evaluation Report") summarising the findings of the evaluation phase of the review of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and the Guidelines on Vertical Restraints.

ECJ rejects power cables appeals on dawn raid powers and successor liability

On 24 September 2020, the European Court of Justice fully dismissed an appeal brought by Prysmian, therefore upholding the European Commission's decision to fine Prysmian EUR 104.6 million for taking part in an international power-cable cartel.

Commission fines car parts suppliers €18 million in cartel settlement

On 29 September 2020, the European Commission announced that it has fined Brose and Kiekert a total of €18 million for taking part in two cartels concerning supplies of closure systems for cars in the European Economic Area.

Belgian law on abuse of economic dependence now in force

The prohibition of abuses of economic dependence, as recently introduced into Belgian competition law (see Ashurst's April 2019 newsletter article), is now in force.

Divestments overcome strong competition concerns with pharmaceutical merger

On 10 September 2020, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") decided to not oppose Mylan NV’s ("Mylan") proposed merger with Pfizer’s Upjohn Inc division ("Upjohn").

HealthEngine fined $2.9m for misleading reviews and patient referrals

On 20 August 2020, HealthEngine Pty Ltd was ordered by the Federal Court of Australia to pay a AUD 2.9 million civil penalty for contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law between 30 April 2014 and 30 June 2018 .

France issues first ever deal block - E.Leclerc-Géant Casino local hypermarket deal

The French Competition Authority has concluded that the acquisition of the hypermarket Géant Casino, by two entities operating (directly or indirectly) under the competing retailer E. Leclerc, raised competition concerns at the local level, which could not be addressed through commitments offered by the parties.

€444m French pharma sector fine for rare collective abuse of a dominance infringement

The French Competition Authority has issued a rare decision sanctioning three laboratories active in treatment of age-related macular degeneration on the basis of collective abuse of dominance practices designed to sustain the sale of an expensive drug, Lucentis, to the detriment of a cheaper drug, Avastin.

Italian broadcasting and audiovisual acquisitions law contrary to EU freedom of establishment principles

On 3 September 2020, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") ruled that a restriction imposed by an Italian law on acquisitions in the broadcasting and audiovisual sectors is contrary to the fundamental EU law principle of the freedom of establishment enshrined in Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.

JD Sports and Amazon fined for breach of UK merger control procedural rules

In August 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority imposed a fine of £300,000 on JD Sports/Pentland for failure to comply with its initial enforcement order made in May 2019.

CMA open letter to the weddings sector

The UK Competition and Markets Authority's has published an open letter to businesses in the weddings sector explaining how consumer protection law applies to the wedding contracts which these businesses have with consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enforcement action against four housing developers and advice on leasehold properties