Return to the start box. HE Court of Justice of the European Union (ABAD) this Thursday revoked the decision that released its purchase. Telefonica Europe (O2) with Hutchinson 3G (now Three) and returns the case to the court of first instance to re-order the operation. According to the ABAD, general court He made his first decision. half a dozen “mistakes” therefore he will have to retrial the case in its entirety.
In May 2016, the European Commission decided to block the proposed takeover of Telefónica Europe by Hutchison 3G UK pursuant to the merger regulation, and later challenged this decision in the General Court and requested its annulment. Four years later, the court accepted the appeal and overturned the decision of the community competition services, which decided to appeal. In its decision this Thursday, the CJEU annulled the initial decision and called for a new trial after confirming the existence of errors in the original decision.
The Court of Justice of the European Union is of the opinion that the General Court has placed on the European Commission an evidentiary requirement which finds no basis in the Convention. merger regulation. It also understands that the first instance judges were mistaken in law by declaring that regulation should be interpreted as such that this can only be proven unless a dominant position is established or strengthened as a result of an oligopolistic market concentration process. The existence of a significant barrier to effective competition if the Commission shows that two cumulative conditions are met.
That is, on the one hand, the significant competitive pressures exerted by the concentration parties on each other are eliminated, and on the other hand, the competitive pressure on the remaining competitors is reduced. European supreme court judges say that this restrictive interpretation is incompatible with the regulation’s purpose of ensuring effective control of all concentrations that constitute a significant barrier to effective competition in the internal market or in a substantial part of it. including those that cause uncoordinated effects.
major obstacles
The CJEU also understands that although the General Court did not exceed the limits of its jurisdiction, it falsified the Commission’s decision and the Community Executive Board’s procedural documents and made a mistake in comparing this issue with other cases concerning concentrations. Also, because the Commission has not made an overall assessment of the factors and relevant findings to verify whether it indicates the existence of a significant barrier to effective competition.
“Given the size, nature and extent of the errors made by the General Court, affecting the whole of its reasoning, the Court of Justice overturns the decision on appeal. As the Court of Justice does not have the necessary elements to give a final verdict on all the grounds put forward in the first-instance court, it will send the matter back to the General Court”.