Competition
Google to change global advertising practices in landmark antitrust deal
Google said it would make changes to its global advertising business to ensure it did not abuse its dominance, bowing to antitrust pressure for the first time in a landmark settlement with French authorities.
Manufacturers urged to remove pre-installed apps on new phones
As the EU debates its Digital Markets Act, calls have grown louder for manufacturers to remove all applications pre-installed on new phones in order to combat the oligopoly of "gatekeepers" such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. EURACTIV France reports.
Amazon wins court fight against €250 million EU tax order
Amazon won on Wednesday (12 May) its fight against an EU order to pay about €250 million euros in back taxes to Luxembourg, as Europe's second-highest court dealt a blow to the bloc's efforts to make multinational corporations pay more taxes.
Commission bolsters toolbox against disruptive foreign subsidies
Companies subsidised by foreign governments will have to win EU authorities' green light to acquire European firms or to bid in public procurements, according to a European Commission proposal published on Wednesday (5 May).
Czech lawmakers reject quotas on domestic goods in supermarkets to avert EU clash
Czech lawmakers rejected plans to require supermarkets to sell mainly domestically produced food on Tuesday (13 April), removing the measure from a bill on food quality to avoid clashes with the European Commission over EU single market rules.
Greater corporate tax transparency is also good for business
Far from making life harder for business, public country-by-country reporting will actually improve relations with investors, and benefit both companies and consumers, writes Elena Gaita.
EU SMEs in bid for greater interoperability in Digital Markets Act
Forty pan-European tech companies have penned a letter to MEPs calling for support for bolstered interoperability requirements in the Digital Markets Act (DMA) while stressing the importance of keeping the rules aligned to developments in the area across EU nations.
German legal dispute over Facebook data use sent to European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice has been asked to clarify whether Germany's competition authority was right to order Facebook to halt its data collection practices, due to concerns over alleged abuse of its dominant market position and violations of EU data protection law.
Don’t impose new tax reporting burden on EU businesses
The competitiveness of European businesses is at risk if EU introduces unilateral public country-by-country reporting, writes Krister Andersson.
Poland, Hungary win court fight against EU Commission over turnover taxes
Europe's top court ruled on Monday (16 March) that Polish and Hungarian taxes on turnover targeted by the EU Commission for giving an unfair advantage to small businesses over their bigger, foreign rivals were legal.
Massive German state aid to virus-hit firms? Others in EU doing as much or more: Vestager
Concerns that Germany may have an unfair competitive advantage because of billions of euros pumped into its virus-hit companies are not backed by data which show other EU states doing as much if not more for their businesses, Europe's antitrust chief said.
Air France, unions rail against EU bailout conditions
Air France and its pilot unions protested on Wednesday (3 February) against EU demands that the airline give up takeoff and landing slots at its Paris base in return for government aid.
Britain sketches out post-Brexit state aid scheme
Britain wants to establish a more flexible system of subsidy rules than those in place when it was a member of the European Union, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said on Wednesday (3 February).
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.