Competition guides

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Consumer Goods by Ina Dimireva — last modified 19 August 2009, 16:24 CET

Individuals are directly affected if competition is weak in the area of consumer goods. The European Commission therefore aims to safeguard competition for the benefit of the consumer.

Competition Contacts by Ina Dimireva — last modified 14 June 2010, 23:45 CET

 

State Aid by Ina Dimireva — last modified 18 August 2009, 22:29 CET

The objective of EU state aid control is, as laid down in the founding Treaties of the European Communities, to ensure that government interventions do not distort competition and intra-community trade.

Liberalisation by Ina Dimireva — last modified 18 August 2009, 22:31 CET

Services such as transport, energy, postal services and telecommunications in the European Union have not always been as open to competition as they are today. The European Commission has been instrumental in opening up these markets to competition (also known as liberalisation).

Cartels in the EU by Ina Dimireva — last modified 17 August 2009, 18:09 CET

Cartels are illegal under European Union competition law and the European Commission imposes heavy fines on companies involved in a cartel. Action against cartels is a specific type of antitrust enforcement. A cartel is a group of similar, independent companies which join together to fix prices, to limit production or to share markets or customers between them.

Mergers in the EU by Ina Dimireva — last modified 17 August 2009, 19:11 CET

Combining the activities of different companies can increase their efficiency. The market becomes more competitive and consumers benefit from higher-quality goods at fairer prices. However, if the annual turnover of the combined businesses exceeds specified thresholds in terms of global and European sales, the proposed merger must be notified to the European Commission, which must examine it.

Antitrust by Ina Dimireva — last modified 18 August 2009, 08:12 CET

The antitrust area covers two prohibition rules set out in the EC Treaty. The European Commission is empowered to impose fines on undertakings who violate the antitrust rules of the European Union.

Commission approves EUR 251 million aid for Gdansk shipyard in Poland - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 22 July 2009, 13:38 CET

Following an in-depth investigation opened in June 2005, the European Commission has authorised under EC Treaty state aid rules various support measures worth EUR 251 million, spread over several years and extending into the future, in favour of the Gdansk Shipyard in Poland. Privatised in 2007, the yard recently presented a restructuring plan that will to a large extent be financed from private resources raised by the yard and its owner. The Commission concluded that the plan will ensure the viability of the yard and that the distortions of competition, caused by years of subsidised operations, will be adequately reduced by production capacity closures.

EC infringement exercise concerning cross-border energy network access and regulated prices - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 25 June 2009, 17:36 CET

The Commission has launched new infringement proceedings against 25 EU Member States for not complying with the EU legislation on the internal market for electricity and gas, notably the Electricity Regulation (1228/2003), the Gas Regulation (1775/2005), the Electricity Directive (2003/54/EC) and the Gas Directive (2003/55/EC). If the Member States do not implement the internal energy market rules, the Commission says they prevent European consumers and the other market participants from benefiting from the advantages of a competitive and open energy market.

Commission fine for Electrabel for implementing acquisition of Compagnie Nationale du Rhône without prior Commission approval - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 11 June 2009, 22:30 CET

The European Commission has decided to impose a fine of EUR 20 million on Electrabel, an electricity producer and retailer belonging to the Suez Group (now GDF Suez) for acquiring control of Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), another electricity producer, without having received prior approval under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission concluded that the infringement lasted for a significant period and that Electrabel should have been aware of its obligation to receive Commission approval before proceeding with the acquisition. The EU Merger Regulation requires concentrations of a European dimension to be notified to the Commission before their implementation so that the Commission can examine whether a concentration would significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it. This is known as the 'standstill obligation'.

Commission fine on Intel for abuse of dominant position - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 13 May 2009, 23:52 CET

The European Commission has imposed a fine of EUR 1,060,000,000 on Intel Corporation for violating EC Treaty antitrust rules on the abuse of a dominant market position (Article 82) by engaging in illegal anticompetitive practices to exclude competitors from the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units (CPUs). The Commission has also ordered Intel to cease the illegal practices immediately to the extent that they are still ongoing. Throughout the period October 2002-December 2007, Intel had a dominant position in the worldwide x86 CPU market (at least 70% market share). The Commission found that Intel engaged in two specific forms of illegal practice. First, Intel gave wholly or partially hidden rebates to computer manufacturers on condition that they bought all, or almost all, their x86 CPUs from Intel. Intel also made direct payments to a major retailer on condition it stock only computers with Intel x86 CPUs. Such rebates and payments effectively prevented customers - and ultimately consumers - from choosing alternative products. Second, Intel made direct payments to computer manufacturers to halt or delay the launch of specific products containing competitors’ x86 CPUs and to limit the sales channels available to these products. The Commission found that these practices constituted abuses of Intel’s dominant position on the x86 CPU market that harmed consumers throughout the EEA. By undermining its competitors’ ability to compete on the merits of their products, Intel’s actions undermined competition and innovation. The Commission will actively monitor Intel’s compliance with this decision. The world market for x86 CPUs is currently worth approximately EUR 22 billion (US$ 30 billion) per year, with Europe accounting for approximately 30% of that.

EU support to fight the crisis in the automotive sector by EUbusiness — last modified 25 February 2009, 23:24 CET

The European automotive sector, with 12 million jobs depending on this strategic industry, has been hit particularly hard by the current economic crisis with new registrations down by 20 per cent and gloomy expectations for 2009. Due to its close links to other sectors and the wide spread of supply industry and vehicle trade, the negative economic effects reaches out to millions of employees in all EU Member States. In today's communication, the European Commission defends a proactive stance to support industry in their efforts to withstand the crisis, soften negative effects and ensure long-term competitiveness. Building on the European Economic Recovery Plan of 2008, it sets various measures to improve access to credit, to clarify the rules for granting state aid in the particular circumstances, to boost the demand for new vehicles through coordinated national action, to minimise social costs and retain the skilled workforce and to defend fair competition in open markets. The Commission suggests a new partnership with industry, trade unions and EU Member States in the context of the CARS 21 process to accompany the common crisis response.

Preliminary EU report on pharmaceutical sector inquiry - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 28 November 2008, 13:57 CET

The European Commission has published its preliminary report on the competition inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector, which finds that competition in this industry does not work as well as it should. According to the preliminary findings there is evidence that originator companies have engaged in practices with the objective of delaying or blocking market entry of competing medicines. Practices vis-à-vis generic companies include multiple patent applications for the same medicine (so-called patent clusters), initiation of disputes and litigation, conclusion of patent settlements which constrain market entry of generic companies and interventions before national authorities when generic companies ask for regulatory approvals. Where successful, these practices result in significant additional costs for public health budgets – and ultimately taxpayers and patients – and reduce incentives to innovate. The report takes a sample of medicines that faced loss of exclusivity in the period 2000 to 2007 in 17 EU Member States and estimates that additional savings of around EUR 3 billion would have been possible on that sample over this period if generic medicines had entered the market without delay. The report also finds that companies applied defensive patenting strategies, primarily aimed at blocking competitors in the development of new medicines.

Alitalia decision and state aid to the air transport sector by EUbusiness — last modified 12 November 2008, 14:13 CET

The European Commission today concluded that the sale of Alitalia’s assets does not constitute State aid provided that the Italian authorities fully comply with the undertakings they have given. The sale is planned in the context of the special administration procedure which will lead to the winding-up of the Italian airline. The Commission has therefore given Italy the go-ahead to start selling the assets. The decision follows the Commission’s earlier decision to close the official State aid investigation procedure it started on 11 June 2008 to look into a €300 million loan from Italy to Alitalia. The Commission’s conclusion was that the loan was unlawful aid and incompatible with the common market.

State aid: what is possible under EU rules - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 29 October 2008, 23:08 CET

This question & answer briefing outlines the main possibilities given to European Union Member States by EU state aid rules to support various parts of the economy.

Commission guidance on state aid for banks in crisis - briefing by EUbusiness — last modified 13 October 2008, 20:32 CET

The European Commission has published guidance on how EU Member States can best support financial institutions in the current financial crisis whilst respecting EU state aid rules and so avoiding excessive distortions of competition. The guidance is based in particular on EC Treaty rules allowing for aid to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a Member State (Article 87.3.b of the EC Treaty). The guidance will help Member States to put in place coordinated concrete measures to restore confidence in financial markets in accordance with the 12th October Eurogroup declaration. EU state aid rules require that measures taken do not give rise to disproportionate distortions of competition, for example by discriminating against financial institutions based in other Member States and/or allowing beneficiary banks to unfairly attract new additional business solely as a result of the government support. Other requirements include that measures must be limited in time and foresee adequate contributions from the private sector. The Commission will aim to approve schemes that comply with this guidance very quickly (within 24 hours, if possible).

Regulation automatically approving aid for jobs and growth - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 07 July 2008, 17:22 CET

The European Commission has adopted a Regulation, which will come into force in the coming weeks, giving automatic approval for a range of state aid measures and so allowing EU Member States to grant such aid without first notifying the Commission. The Regulation authorises aid in favour of SMEs, research, innovation, regional development, training, employment and risk capital. The Regulation also authorises environmental protection aid, aid measures promoting entrepreneurship, such as aid for young innovative businesses, aid for newly created small businesses in assisted regions, and measures tackling problems, like difficulties in access to finance, faced by female entrepreneurs. As well as encouraging Member States to focus their state resources on aid that will be of real benefit to job creation and Europe's competitiveness, the Regulation reduces the administrative burden for public authorities, the beneficiaries and the Commission. This new General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) consolidates into one text and harmonises the rules previously existing in five separate Regulations, and enlarges the categories of state aid covered by the exemption. It will take effect 20 days after publication in the Official Journal, allowing Member States to grant better targeted aid immediately.

Incompatible aid from Hellenic Shipyards - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 02 July 2008, 13:17 CET

The European Commission has requested Greece, following an in-depth investigation under EC Treaty state aid rules, to recover more than EUR 230 million of illegal state aid from Hellenic Shipyards S.A. (HSY).

EC settlement procedure for cartels - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 30 June 2008, 22:43 CET

The European Commission has introduced a settlement procedure for cartels which will allow the Commission to settle cartel cases through a simplified procedure. Under this procedure, parties, having seen the evidence in the Commission file, choose to acknowledge their involvement in the cartel and their liability for it. In return for this acknowledgement, the Commission can reduce the fine imposed on the parties by 10%. Settlements aim to simplify the administrative proceedings and could reduce litigation before the European Courts in cartel cases. This will in turn free Commission resources to pursue other cases. The Commission has analysed the 51 contributions received during the public consultation launched on 26 October 2007 and has revised the package in consultation with EU Member States' competition authorities. The legislative package consists of a Commission Regulation together with a Commission Notice (the "settlement notice") explaining the new system in detail. The settlements package will enter into force on the day of its publication in the EU Official Journal.

Notice on state aid in the form of Guarantees - guide by EUbusiness — last modified 20 May 2008, 19:06 CET

The European Commission on 20 May 2008 adopted a new Notice on state aid in the form of guarantees. The text sets out clear and transparent methodologies to calculate the aid element in a guarantee and provides simplified rules for SMEs, including predefined safe-harbour premiums and single premium rates for low-amount guarantees. The new Notice was foreseen in the State Aid Action Plan as part of the Commission's efforts to clarify and simplify the state aid rules.