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Category: Allgemein

The Saxon wood pulp cartel

The Saxon wood pulp cartel

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Cartels are harmful to the economy and consumers. What sounds obvious today was seen differently in Germany more than 100 years ago. Competition was considered “pernicious” and cartels “beneficial”. In one of its most famous rulings, the then Supreme Court, Reichsgericht (RG), paved the way for the progressive cartelisation of the German economy in 1897, an epochal misjudgement, as later became apparent. If you are looking for a distraction from “gatekeepers” and “GAFA”, you can take a look back with Paul…

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Revamp of the EU’s rules on vertical agreements: It’s about the (digital) economy, stupid!

Revamp of the EU’s rules on vertical agreements: It’s about the (digital) economy, stupid!

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Just before the summer break, the European Commission (“Commission”) continues to tick off its To-Do-List, adding an important checkmark in its efforts to modernise the current set of rules in various areas of competition law. On 9 July 2021 it published its draft reform of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“Draft VBER”), including revised Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (“Draft Vertical Guidelines”). Kaan Gürer has taken a closer look. What is this all about? The VBER sets out the conditions under…

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The Car Cartel and the European Green Deal – Decision of the European Commission in the Car Emissions Cartel Case

The Car Cartel and the European Green Deal – Decision of the European Commission in the Car Emissions Cartel Case

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What are the limits to cooperation between companies in areas of research and development under the rules of antitrust law? The European Commission had to rule on a case in which five German car manufacturers allegedly engaged in illegal collusion regarding the use of emission-reducing technologies (AT.40178). The decision has not yet been published. Leon Kümmel has already taken a closer look at the European Commission’s press release. What happened? On July 8, 2021, the European Commission published in a press…

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Jurisdictional issues in private antitrust enforcement – Advocate General Bobek sets a proper benchmark

Jurisdictional issues in private antitrust enforcement – Advocate General Bobek sets a proper benchmark

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Do national courts have the power to fully apply Article 101(1) TFEU and Article 53(1) EEA‑Agreement with regard to anticompetitive practices? This question was referred to the European Court of Justice by the Rechtbank Amsterdam (District Court Amsterdam) on 6 November 2019 (Case C ‑819/19). Advocate General Bobek gave his opinion on the matter in his Opinion of 6 May 2021. Anna-Jacqueline Limprecht reports. Price agreements for air freight services trigger the proceedings As a warning, it should be mentioned that a large number of…

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Update: The Dispute over Track Access Charges in Germany

Update: The Dispute over Track Access Charges in Germany

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Various private railway undertakings and their public clients are in dispute with Deutsche Bahn over the reimbursement of charges for access to railway tracks and stations. Lawyer Eckhard Bremer already reported on this dispute in this blog in November 2020. Bremer is one of the plaintiffs’ representatives. The legal issue at the heart of the dispute concerns the relationship between cartel damages law and the public law regulatory regime for the rail sector. After several rulings of the German Bundesgerichtshof, the Federal Supreme Court,…

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Bundeskartellamt in action

Bundeskartellamt in action

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On 23 June 2021, the Bundeskartellamt published its activity report for the years 2019/2020 and presented it at an online press conference. But there is also “explosive” news from the European Competition Network (ECN): The antitrust authorities of the member states demand in a paper to be involved in the enforcement of the DMA. Philipp Offergeld gives an overview of both papers. Every two years the Bundeskartellamt reports to the German Bundestag, the Parliament, on its activities in the previous…

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The politization of antitrust

The politization of antitrust

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Antitrust has arguably become increasingly political in recent years. Tobias Pukropski provides an overview of the main developments at EU-level and in Germany, and of their practical implications. A tale of hipsters, fairness, sustainability, and Germans in Chinese trains. Once upon a time… …antitrust enforcement was untouched by political considerations. All that mattered was the rule of law, applied without regard to political or policy considerations or to external circumstance. Really? Sounds like a fairy-tale. Well, that probably is a…

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The DMA after the Schwab-Report

The DMA after the Schwab-Report

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After the European Commission published a proposal for a “Digital Markets Act” (DMA) at the end of last year, the rapporteur of the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, Dr. Andreas Schwab, has now dealt with the matter – in accordance with the legislative procedure. Philipp Offergeld reports on the essential changes proposed by “Mr. Competition”, which are quite something. This week we received the Draft Report from the European Parliament by Andreas Schwab, who as a…

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Good night, ‘most favoured nation’ clauses!

Good night, ‘most favoured nation’ clauses!

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Almost a year ago, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (OLG) caused a stir with its booking.com decision. D’Kart had reported on it here. In its ruling of 18 May 2021, the German Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof) ruled on the Bundeskartellamt’s appeal and once again overturned a decision by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court. Adrian Deuschle reports on the decision from Karlsruhe. Price parity clauses or most favoured nation (MFN) clauses are a hot topic in the digital economy: In 2012,…

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Advertisement: 4th Düsseldorf Doctoral Seminar on competition law

Advertisement: 4th Düsseldorf Doctoral Seminar on competition law

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The vaccination of the German population is picking up speed, our Federal Minister of Health proudly announces new records on daily vaccinations and yet there is no certainty when and how normality will return. The Institute for Competition Law at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf has thus decided to host its fourth Doctoral Seminar on competition law online on 28 September 2021. Patrick Hauser with the necessary information: Due to the pandemic most mass events had to be cancelled in…

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