EC officials conducted surprise inspections of companies active in the rail freight sector and related products industry in Baltic countries.
Category Archives: EU News
EU Magazine Paper Merger Investigation
May 12, 2011 – 2:11 pm
The EC is investigating the planned paper industry acquisition by UPM-Kymmene Corporation of Myllykoski Corporation and Rhein Papier GmbH. The EC is concerned that the merger will restrain competition in the magazine paper market. The Commission now has 90 working days, until 19 July, 2011, to take a final decision.
EC Prestressed Steal Cartel Fines Issued
May 11, 2011 – 2:48 pm
The European Commission has fined 17 prestressed steel producers for operating a multi-national cartel from the 1980s through 2002. The fines totaled € 269 870 750.
Activision Antitrust Fine Upheld by European Court of Justice
April 15, 2011 – 1:35 pm
The European Court of Justice, the European Union’s highest court, upheld a €500,000 ($680,000) fine against Activision Blizzard Germany GmbH for its antitrust violation regarding parallel exports of Nintendo products. Activision was found to have participated in a scheme, along with several other distributors including Nintendo Co. Ltd., to restrict the sale of Nintendo products [...]
EU Requests Patent Settlement Information Between Pharmaceutical Companies and Generic Drug Manufacturers
January 31, 2011 – 1:12 pm
Antitrust regulators requested drug patent settlement information for 2010 from drug manufacturers to determine if the agreements have delayed generic drug entry into the market. The request for information is the second monitoring session activated by the EC. The first monitoring exercise determined that “pay for delay” settlement agreements decreased significantly once the EC began [...]
EU Antitrust Regulators Raid Truck Manufacturers in Cartel Investigation
January 28, 2011 – 1:15 pm
Antitrust regulators raided the offices of Daimler AG, Volvo AB, and other truck manufacturers as they began to investigate cartel activity. The EC announced that it had reason to believe that truck manufacturers may have operated a cartel or abused their dominant market positions to restrict competition. All five truck manufactures involved in the probe [...]
EC Opens Cement Investigation
January 26, 2011 – 5:16 pm
The European Commission is investigating cement manufacturers suspected of engaging in anticompetitive business practices. The Commission is concerned about possible import/export restrictions, market sharing, and price coordination in the markets for cement and related products.
EC Opens Investigation of Google
January 26, 2011 – 5:12 pm
The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Google after several search service providers complained that the company had abused its dominant position by allegedly lowering the ranking of unpaid search results of competing services. The Commission said that it would also look into allegations that Google has implemented a series of policies to [...]
European Court of Justice Upholds Annul Cartel Fine
January 26, 2011 – 5:06 pm
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed the appeal brought by Repsol, General Quimica SA, and Repsol Quimica SA challenging a $4.9 million fine levied by the Commission. The ECJ upheld the fine, but reversed a lower court decision to hold the companies jointly and severally liable. In 2005, the EC fined the companies for [...]
EC Closes Investigation into Visa’s Debit Transaction Fees
January 18, 2011 – 9:31 pm
The EC stopped investigating Visa Europe’s debit card transaction fees after charged by Visa proposed that it substantially reduce its fees. In April, 2010, Visa Europe offered to cap for the next four years the “maximum weighted average for its multilateral interchange fees (MIF) at .2% of the transaction.” The customer’s bank charges the MIF [...]