Inside this Issue:
- Competition: Commission market tests commitments proposed by RWE concerning German gas market
- Competition: Commission launches review of rules for assessing horizontal cooperation agreements
- Competition: Commission publishes guidance on the application of Article 82 EC
- Competition (Sweden): Swedish Market Court annulled an interim order compelling Ekfors Group to cease its threats to stop providing grid services
- Merger control: Commission approves proposed acquisition of Fortis' Belgian and Luxembourg assets by BNP Paribas, subject to conditions
- Merger control (Finland): Finnish Competition Authority clears proposed acquisition of Peab Industri by Peab
Competition: Commission market tests commitments proposed by RWE concerning German gas market
The Commission has invited interested parties to submit comments on the commitments offered by RWE to address the Commission's concerns regarding its alleged abuse of dominant position on the German gas transmission market. The Commission's preliminary assessment indicated that RWE may have abused its dominant position in violation of Article 82 of the EC Treaty, in particular, by refusing to supply gas transmission services to third parties and by trying to lower its downstream competitors' gas supply profit margins. To address the Commission's concerns, RWE offered to divest its German high-pressure gas transmission network including assets, personnel and ancillary services necessary for viable gas transport business. The Commission invites interested parties to submit their comments on RWE's commitments within one month of the publication of the commitments in the EU Official Journal. If the result of the market test is positive, the Commission will adopt a decision making the commitments legally binding on RWE. Source: Commission Press Release 5/12/2008
Competition: Commission launches review of rules for assessing horizontal cooperation agreements
The Commission has launched a public consultation on the functioning of the current regime for the assessment of horizontal cooperation agreements under EU competition rules, particularly the Specialization and Research & Development Block Exemption Regulations and the Guidelines on the assessment of horizontal cooperation agreements. The Commission will evaluate how these rules have worked in practice. As the current rules on horizontal cooperation will expire at the end of 2010, the Commission will establish a regime to be applied thereafter. Receiving feedback from stakeholders concerning their practical experiences in applying the two Block Exemption Regulations and the accompanying guidelines is a key element in the review and will help to ensure that the future regime not only reflects market realities but also enables fair cooperation between competitors. The Commission invites interested parties to submit comments by 30 January 2009. Source: Commission Press Release 4/12/2008
Competition: Commission publishes guidance on the application of Article 82 EC
The Commission has published guidance on its enforcement priorities in applying Article 82 EC to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant companies. For the first time, the guidance paper provides comprehensive guidance to stakeholders, in particular the business community and national competition law enforcers, on the Commission's application of an effects-based approach to establish its enforcement priorities under Article 82 EC concerning exclusionary conduct. The guidance paper outlines the analytical framework that the Commission uses when evaluating the most common forms of exclusionary conduct, such as exclusive dealing, rebates, predatory practices and tying and bundling. The main principles of the effects-based approach to Article 82 include, inter alia, that the Commission should focus on protecting consumers and the competitive process, not individual competitors; and that the Commission need not demonstrate that the dominant company's conduct actually harmed competition, but only that convincing evidence indicates that harm is likely. Since the enforcement policy's focus is on the likely effects on consumers of a dominant undertaking's conduct, the Commission will examine dominant undertakings' claims that their conduct is justified on efficiency grounds – as it already does under Article 81 EC and in merger control cases. Source: Commission Press Release 3/12/2008
Competition (Sweden): Swedish Market Court annulled an interim order compelling Ekfors Group to cease its threats to stop providing grid services
The Swedish Market Court ("Market Court") has ruled that Ekfors Kraft Aktiebolag, Ekfors Energi Aktiebolag, Ekfors Mark och Linjebyggnad Aktiebolag and Storstark AB ("Ekfors") have complied with the Market Court's interim order of 5 December 2007, compelling the companies to cease the group's threats to stop providing grid services to Haparanda Teknik och Fastighets AB and Stiftelsen Haparandabostäder ("HTFAB"). The Market Court ruled that Ekfors has complied with the interim order because, in a letter sent to HTFAB, it withdrew the threat to stop providing grid services. The Market Court found that as the threat from Ekfors no longer exists, the interim decision of 5 December 2007 shall be annulled and HTFAB's claim shall be dismissed. The Market Court ordered HTFAB to compensate Ekfors' legal expenses. Source: The Swedish Market Court (www.marknadsdomstolen.se)05/12/2008
Merger control: Commission approves proposed acquisition of Fortis' Belgian and Luxembourg assets by BNP Paribas, subject to conditions
The Commission has cleared, subject to conditions, the proposed acquisition of the Belgian and Luxembourg subsidiaries of Fortis Holding (Fortis Bank Belgium, Fortis Banque Luxembourg and Fortis Insurance Belgium) by BNP Paribas, of France. The Fortis assets to be acquired are active in the credit card business in Belgium and Luxembourg. In Belgium, Fortis is a major card issuer and a major supplier of card and general banking services to both private and corporate clients. BNP Paribas, a bank with retail operations mainly in France, is also present in Belgium and Luxembourg in the credit card market through its subsidiary BNP Paribas Personal Finance Belgium SA/NV ("PFB") and two joint ventures. The Commission identified serious competition concerns in the market for issuing of credit cards and the related provision of credit in Belgium, as the merged entity would have become by far the largest player in the market and, thus, reduced customers' choice. The Commission also identified competition concerns in the Luxembourg market as regards issuing of credit cards. In order to address the Commission's concerns, BNP Paribas offered to divest PFB in its entirety. In view of the commitment, the Commission concluded that the acquisition will not create or strengthen such a dominant market position that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or in any substantial part thereof. Source: Commission Press Release 3/12/2008
Merger control (Finland): Finnish Competition Authority clears proposed acquisition of Peab Industri by Peab
The Finnish Competition Authority ("FCA") has cleared the proposed acquisition of Peab Industri AB ("Peab Industri") by Peab AB ("Peab"). Peab is a construction group active mainly in Sweden, but also in Finland and Norway. The main activities of the Peab group are housing and facility construction. In Finland, the Peab group is active through its subsidiary Peab Seicon Oy, which specializes in construction engineering and housing construction. Peab Industri is active in the building market, and its commercial activities consist of three sectors: machinery, products and services. Within these sectors, Peab Industri is active, inter alia, in the lease and retail of cranes and other construction machines and in the manufacture of concrete and asphalt. The FCA concluded that the proposed acquisition will not create or strengthen such a dominant market position that would significantly impede effective competition in the Finnish market or in any substantial part thereof. Source: The Finnish Competition Authority (www.kilpailuvirasto.fi)14/11/2008
In addition, kindly note the following merger control decisions by the Commission which are published on the website of the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition:
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of Alloin by Kuehne+Nagel
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of HVB by RBSK Group, DZ Bank Group and RZB Group
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of SNCM by Veolia Transport
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of Zehnacker by Sodexo
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of Gamesa Energía's wind farm business by Iberdrola Renovables
- Commission clears proposed joint venture between Société Générale and la Caixa
- Commission clears proposed acquisition of Altran by APAX Partners
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