Publications

The attached annual review was presented at the IBC 2012 Advanced EU Competition Law conference in London on 17 April 2012 and provides a detailed analysis of the most significant EU cases relating to anti-competitive agreements, abuses of dominance and merger control in the last 12 months.

The major developments discussed in this paper include:

• The Commission's cartel fines in 2011 totalled € 614 million, compared to € 2.9 billion during the previous year;
• The General Court issued judgments in more than 70 appeals and had to consider inter alia parental liability, follow on damages, and the evidentiary burden in cartel cases;
• The Commission's Telekom Polska decision finding abuse of dominance, as well as the Commission's IBM and Standard & Poor’s commitment decisions, and new complainants in the Google investigation;
• The Commission's high-profile prohibition of the Deutsche Börse /NYSE merger;
• Article 22 referrals, application of the priority rule in Seagate/Samsung and Western Digital/Hitachi, and new questions arising from mergers involving Chinese state-owned enterprises;
• The waiving of commitments in Hoffman-La Roche/Boehringer;
• The ECHR's Menarini judgment and its implications for judicial review and the fundamental right to a fair trial in competition proceedings;
• The Commission's fine of € 8 million for breach of a seal imposed on Suez Environnement and of € 2.5 million for obstructing an inspection in Energetický a průmyslový holding and EP Investment Advisors;
• The importance of access to file in Solvay and CDC Hydrogene Peroxide and the Commission's exclusivity over negative findings of infringement in Tele2 Polska;
• The Commission's Best Practices package, Antitrust manual of Procedures (ManProc), and Informal Guidance Paper on confidentiality claims.
   

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