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Antitrust, Competition and Trade

EU Commission Publishes Findings on EU Competition Enforcement Framework

On 5 September 2024, the European Commission published a “Staff Working Document”  summarising the findings of the evaluation of two EU Regulations, Regulation 1/2003 and Regulation 773/2004, which concern the enforcement of EU competition law. These Regulations, which entered into force 20 years ago, lay out the procedural framework for the implementation of EU competition rules laid down in Articles 101 and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (“TFEU”). The evaluation exercise by the Commission has concluded that, in general, these Regulations have achieved their objective for effective, efficient and uniform application of EU competition law.  It has also noted that…
Mamo TCV Advocates
18th September 2024
European Parliament, Strasbourg
Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Draft Guidelines on Abusive Exclusionary Conduct

In August 2024 the European Commission published draft guidelines on the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”) to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings. Rather than the current guidance on enforcement priorities, this document has taken the shape of guidelines proper, similar to those found in respect of Article 101 TFEU. The intention is therefore that undertakings, legal counsel and competition authorities follow the doctrine laid out in the eventual guidelines when applying Article 102 TFEU to conduct by dominant undertakings that may be exclusionary in nature. Although the draft cites…
Annalies Muscat
12th September 2024
Antitrust, Competition and Trade

Google Shopping: The Saga Continues

Following an antitrust investigation, in 2017 the European Commission had fined Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. a record €2.4 billion for abuse of Google’s dominant position. In brief, it found that Google was self-preferencing, by presenting results from its own Google Shopping first upon a so called “Google search”. On appeal to the General Court, the fine was confirmed in 2021. The General Court only accepted part of Google and Alphabet’s argument, namely that there was no negative anti-competitive effect on the market for general search services. Google and Alphabet further appealed the General Court’s judgment to the Court of…
Annalies Muscat
12th January 2024