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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

MasterCard Fined €570 Million for Breaching Competition Rules

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​On 22 January 2019, the European Commission ("the Commission) fined MasterCard for limiting the possibility for retailers to benefit from lower interchange fees in other Member States.This follows the call for feedback on commitments offered by Visa and MasterCard regarding the competition concerns raised by inter-regional interchange fees for payment card transactions (read more here).The fine comes as a response to MasterCard's breach of competition rules, which MasterCard admitted to. Prior to the implementation of the Interchange Fee Regulation, the aim of which was to introduce caps on interchange…
Annalies Muscat
8th February 2019
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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

EU Adopts Regulation Prohibiting Geo-Blocking

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​The European Commission (the 'Commission') has adopted an e-commerce package that included the adoption of different laws with the aim of making it easier for European consumers to shop online throughout the European Union (the 'EU'). One of the measures adopted was Regulation 2018/302 on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market (the 'Regulation'). The Regulation became applicable from the 3 December 2018.BackgroundGeo-blocking is a practice whereby traders operating in a country block or…
Annalies Muscat
10th January 2019
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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

EU Adopts Regulation Prohibiting Geo-Blocking

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​The European Commission (the 'Commission') has adopted an e-commerce package that included the adoption of different laws with the aim of making it easier for European consumers to shop online throughout the European Union (the 'EU'). One of the measures adopted was Regulation 2018/302 on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market (the 'Regulation'). The Regulation became applicable from the 3 December 2018.BackgroundGeo-blocking is a practice whereby traders operating in a country block or…
Annalies Muscat
10th January 2019
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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

EU Adopts Regulation Prohibiting Geo-Blocking

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​The European Commission (the 'Commission') has adopted an e-commerce package that included the adoption of different laws with the aim of making it easier for European consumers to shop online throughout the European Union (the 'EU'). One of the measures adopted was Regulation 2018/302 on addressing unjustified geo-blocking and other forms of discrimination based on customers' nationality, place of residence or place of establishment within the internal market (the 'Regulation'). The Regulation became applicable from the 3 December 2018.BackgroundGeo-blocking is a practice whereby traders operating in a country block or…
Annalies Muscat
10th January 2019
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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Commission Seeks Feedback on Commitments Offered by Visa and Mastercard on Inter-Regional Interchange Fees

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​Following the issue of a Statement of Objections by the European Commission (the 'Commission') against Visa and MasterCard regarding the competition concerns raised by inter-regional interchange fees ('inter-regional MIFs') for payment card transactions, the Commission is inviting any interested parties to comment on the commitments that have been proposed by Visa and MasterCard separately. Inter-regional MIFs are fees applicable to payments made in the European Economic Area (the 'EEA') using debit or credit cards which had been issued outside the EEA. The Commission had issued a Statement of Objections against…
Annalies Muscat
1st January 2019
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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Commission Seeks Feedback on Commitments Offered by Visa and Mastercard on Inter-Regional Interchange Fees

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura Spiteri.​Following the issue of a Statement of Objections by the European Commission (the 'Commission') against Visa and MasterCard regarding the competition concerns raised by inter-regional interchange fees ('inter-regional MIFs') for payment card transactions, the Commission is inviting any interested parties to comment on the commitments that have been proposed by Visa and MasterCard separately. Inter-regional MIFs are fees applicable to payments made in the European Economic Area (the 'EEA') using debit or credit cards which had been issued outside the EEA. The Commission had issued a Statement of Objections against…
Annalies Muscat
1st January 2019