Competition
Peugeot, Fiat merger to be sealed by shareholders
The shareholders of France's PSA and US-Italian rival Fiat Chrysler are expected to approve their merger on Monday (4 January), creating the world's fourth-biggest automaker by volume, Stellantis.
Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot get merger green light
The European Commission approved a team-up between Italo-American carmaker Fiat-Chrysler and French manufacturer Peugeot on Monday (21 December), but Brussels identified several concerns which the firms have pledged to address.
Speed skating’s tough rules carved up by EU court
Eligibility rules imposed by the governing body of professional ice skating are not in keeping with the EU’s competition codex because they unfairly penalise competitors, the EU’s top court ruled on Wednesday (16 December).
France injects billions of euros into favoured airlines
The French government is reportedly going to increase its stake in national carrier Air France, in a move that will shore up the airline with up to €5 billion, and has also won EU support for its plan to help Corsair ride out the pandemic.
Blacklist prohibitions to be ‘very limited’ to large platforms, Commission says
The scope of online platforms that will come under new regulatory prohibitions as part of the European Commission's forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) will be narrowly targeted to a set of 'big operators,' the EU executive has revealed.
Ryanair sues at EU’s top court over KLM’s €3.4bn bailout
Irish low-cost airline Ryanair has launched legal action against the European Commission over its decision to approve the Dutch government’s €3.4 billion in state aid for national carrier KLM.
Italy’s port tax perks against EU rules, Vestager warns
Italy’s regime of offering corporate tax-exemption to its ports and harbours is a breach of EU competition rules, the European Commission announced on Friday (4 December), giving the government until 1 January 2022 to ditch the tax perks.
EU ombudsman criticises BlackRock contract
The EU’s ombudsman on Wednesday (25 November) reproached the European Commission for a contract with BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, to study sustainable finance regulations which raised conflict-of-interest questions. Emily O’Reilly, whose role is to be an ethics watchdog...
Commission has never evaluated ‘deterrence effect’ of antitrust fines, auditors say
EU auditors have questioned the effectiveness of antitrust fines dished out by the European Commission, as part of a landmark audit of the EU executive's role as an enforcer of competition rules.
US slaps Google with antitrust suit, eyes possible breakup
The US government filed a blockbuster lawsuit accusing Google of maintaining an "illegal monopoly" in online search and advertising in the country's biggest antitrust case in decades -- opening the door to a potential breakup of the Silicon Valley titan.
EU set to get WTO green light for US tariffs
One year after sanctioning the EU for its support of Airbus, the World Trade Organization is expected Tuesday (13 October) to let the bloc impose sanctions on the United States for aid to Boeing.
Poland slaps €6.45 billion fine on Gazprom over Nord Stream 2 pipeline
Poland's anti-monopoly watchdog on Wednesday (7 October) said it was demanding Russian gas giant Gazprom pay a €6.45 billion fine over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline linking Russia to Germany.
EU to launch review of state aid rules in early 2021
The European Commission will launch a ‘comprehensive review’ of EU competition rules in early 2021, Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday (2 October).
Cambodia’s textile industry takes EU to court in bid to restore trade perks
Cambodia's garment manufacturers association has brought up a case against the European Commission at the EU court of justice following the withdrawal of duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market over the summer.
EU considers allowing more state aid to boost green projects
European Union governments may be allowed to grant more state aid to projects that help the bloc achieve its climate goals, Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday (22 September), calling such an incentive a “green bonus”.
German trust busters get a sharper sword
Germany's ruling coalition has reached an agreement on the amendment to the 62-year old Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB). In the future, authorities will take stronger action against online giants that abuse their market power. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Le Maire hits out at Apple’s market dominance in EU
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire criticised the dominance of foreign firms in European marketplaces on Tuesday (8 September), directly referencing US tech giant Apple's power in the digital arena and calling for the creation of more 'European champions.'
Vestager: Gatekeeper platforms shouldn’t control Europe’s online marketplaces
Europe's online marketplaces should not be controlled by a handful of dominant gatekeeper platforms, the EU's digital chief Margarethe Vestager has said, referring to her bid to reign in the market dominance of tech giants through the EU's forthcoming new competition tool.
Alitalia’s €200m virus aid cleared for landing by EU
The European Commission gave its blessing on Friday (4 September) to the Italian government’s plan to pump €199.45 million into Alitalia, in another example of Rome throwing money at its embattled flag-carrying airline.
Facebook, Microsoft gripes with Apple’s App Store on EU’s antitrust radar
Facebook and Microsoft's grievances over how their gaming apps appear on Apple's App Store may feed into an EU investigation into the iPhone maker's business as EU antitrust regulators said such concerns are on their radar.
EU launches ‘in-depth’ probe of Google bid for Fitbit
The European Commission launched an "in-depth investigation" on Tuesday (4 August) into whether US tech giant Google's planned €1.7 billion purchase of smartwatch maker Fitbit would give it an unfair market advantage.
EU clears creation of world’s second-largest trainmaker
The European Commission on Friday (31 July) signed off on a merger between French trainmaker Alstom and the rail arm of Canadian firm Bombardier, setting a number of competition criteria in the process.
Vestager calls for EU-US ‘common vision’ on platform competition policy
Worldwide jurisdictions and particularly the EU and the US should formulate "common visions" on how best to regulate competition in the platform economy, the Commission's digital chief Margrethe Vestager has said.