Publications / McDermott Newsletters / Brussels Brief - November 30, 2007

Brussels Brief - November 30, 2007

November 30, 2007

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Competition:  Commission Fines Producers of Flat Glass for Price Fixing Cartel

Patricia Armesto

The European Commission has imposed fines on Asahi, Guardian, Pilkington and Saint-Gobain for coordinating price increases and other commercial conditions for deliveries of flat glass in the European Economic Area.  From early 2004 to 2005, these companies are alleged to have raised or otherwise stabilised prices through a series of meetings and other illicit contacts.  The Commission started this investigation on its own initiative, on the basis of market information provided by several EU Member States’ National Competition Authorities.  The Commission imposed total fines of EUR 486.9 million.

 

Sport:  EU-UEFA Conference on Violence in Sport

Andrea Hamilton

The European Commission, Council and Parliament held a high-level conference with the European football governing body, UEFA, on 28 and 29 November, addressing violence and hooliganism in sport.  This conference is one of the first actions outlined in the Commission’s Action Plan for Sport, adopted in summer 2007 and reflects UEFA’s calls for action to combat violence in sport and improve stadium safety.  Participants hope the conference will lead to the development of a multi-disciplinary approach to tackle violence in sport and increased cooperation between stakeholders.  A draft conference report apparently calls for specific actions, including harsher punishments and tougher judicial measures to be taken at an EU level, and the creation of a special committee to police sports events in each Member State.

 

Mergers:  Commission Adopts Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines

Yannis Virvilis

The European Commission has adopted the final text of the long awaited Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines.  The Commission had previously launched a public consultation with the publication of the draft guidelines at the beginning of the year.  The Guidelines apply to vertical mergers between firms that can have a supplier-customer relationship, and also apply to conglomerate mergers where firms are active on closely related markets.  The text describes the market conditions that might lead the Commission to have concerns in non-horizontal mergers.  In an attempt to increase legal certainty, the text provides a rather low “safe-harbour” of market share (30 per cent) and market concentration (post-merger HHI of 2000), below which it is unlikely that any concerns will arise.

 

Air Transport:  Poland Taken to ECJ for Failing to Implement Directive on Non-EU Aircraft Safety

Elena Kostadinova

The European Commission has launched a formal infringement procedure before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) against Poland for its failure to implement the Directive on the safety of third country aircraft using Community airports.  The Directive harmonises the rules on the actions that EU Member States can take against aircraft operators, as well as setting out uniform procedures for the inspection of third country aircraft landing at EU airports.  The Commission considers that Polish legislation has not achieved the objectives of the Directive.  The case will now be considered by the ECJ in a procedure that may take up to two years.

 

State Aid:  ECJ Dismisses Action Lodged by Sniace on Grounds of Admissibility

Juan Gutiérrez

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has upheld a Judgment by the European Court of First Instance that Sniace's action for annulment of a Commission Decision was inadmissible.  The Commission Decision authorised State aid granted by Austria to Lenzing for the construction of a factory for the production of lyocell fibres.  As Sniace only produced viscose fibres, the ECJ underlined that Sniace had failed to demonstrate any direct competition between lyocell and viscose fibres.  Since the aid granted to Lenzing would not substantially affect Sniace’s position in the market, the ECJ confirmed that Sniace was not individually affected by the Commission Decision.  In a separate case, the ECJ confirmed that an action lodged by Lenzing against aid granted to Sniace was admissible because both companies produce viscose fibres.

 

Telecommunications:  Commission Takes Bulgaria to Task for Ineffective Regulation

Chen Dingsheng

The European Commission has launched a formal infringement procedure against Bulgaria for the reported lack of effectiveness of its national telecoms regulator.  The regulator delayed appointing a chairperson and failed to undertake core tasks under existing telecoms rules, such as conducting market analyses.  In addition, the board of the incumbent telecoms operator included the chairperson of another authority with certain regulatory powers, causing a conflict of interest that may jeopardise the independence of the regulator, a key element for ensuring effective implementation of the EU Telecoms Rules.  As meetings with the Bulgarian authorities and letters from the Commission have failed to resolve these problems, the Commission considers that Bulgaria has failed to uphold its obligations under EU law.

 

Trade:  Proposal to Suspend Import Duties on Cereals

Geert Dierickx

The European Commission has proposed the suspension of import duties on all cereals except oats for the current marketing year, ending 30 June 2008.  Although the current levels of border protection for cereals are low, import duties that are relevant for the balance of the EU market are still applied to certain types of grain.  With this proposal, the Commission is reacting to the record price levels and shortages in international cereal markets.  The Commission hopes that a suspension of import duties will facilitate cereal imports and reduce tension on European grain markets.  It is expected that the Commission’s proposal will be approved by the Council of Ministers on 18 December 2007.

 

Internal Market:  Public Procurement Classification System Updated

Bróna Heenan

The European Commission has adopted a Regulation updating the Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV) code.  The CPV code attributes a numeric code to all types of goods and services.  These codes must be used when advertising contracts that are subject to the EU public procurement rules.  The Regulation streamlines the CPV code, taking into account market developments in particular areas such as software applications, medical appliances, environmental services, defence and internet and wireless telecommunications equipment.  The use of a single classification system allows businesses to search and keep track of tenders in all Community languages, promoting transparency and competition.  

 

NEXT WEEK’S EVENTS

Monday 3 December – Friday 7 December 2007

 

COUNCIL MEETINGS

Transports, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Energy) (3 December 2007)

ECOFIN Council / Eurogroup (3 – 4 December 2007)

Council on Employment, Social Policies, Health and the Consumer (5 – 6 December 2007)

Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) (6 – 7 December 2007)

 

COURT OF JUSTICE

Judgments

Area of Freedom, Security and Justice

C-57/07 Commission v Luxembourg

 

Common Customs Tariff

C-486/06 Van Landeghem

 

Competition

C-516/06 P Commission v Ferriere Nord

 

Environment and consumers

C-106/07 Commission v France

 

Freedom of establishment

C-456/05 Commission v Germany

C-258/07 Commission v Sweden

 

Free movement of capital

C-298/05 Columbus Container Services

Joined Cases C-463/04, C-464/04 Federconsumatori and Others

 

Social policy

C-300/06 Voß

 

State aid

C-280/05 Commission v Italy

 

Taxation

C-401/06 Commission v Germany

C-451/06 Walderdorff

 

Opinions

Agriculture

C-446/06 Winkel

 

State aid

Joined Cases C-341/06 P, C-342/06 P Chronopost v UFEX and Others

 

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

Judgments

No judgments scheduled for next week.

 

McDermott Will & Emery

McDermott Will and Emery