Competition
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.
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.