Notícias
Referral of the proposed subsidy to Tata Steel UK by the Department for Business and Trade
The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has published a report providing the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) with advice concerning its proposed subsidy to Tata Steel UK.From:Competition and Markets AuthorityPublished21 December 2023Last updated6 February 2024 — See all updatesCase type:SAU referralCase state:ClosedMarket sector:EngineeringOpened:21 December 2023
Contents
- Administrative timetable
- Final report
- Request from DBT
- Information about the subsidy provided by DBT
- Information for third parties
- Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
- Contacts
Administrative timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 6 February 2024 | SAU’s report published |
| 9 January 2024 | Deadline for receipt of any third party submissions (submissions after 5pm on this date cannot be taken into account) |
| 21 December 2023 | Beginning of reporting period |
Final report
6 February 2024: The SAU has published its report providing advice to DBT concerning the proposed subsidy to Tata Steel UK. The report sets out our evaluation of DBT’s Assessment of Compliance of its proposed subsidy with the requirements set out in the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
- Final report (PDF, 268KB) (6.2.24)
Request from DBT
21 December 2023: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from DBT for its proposed subsidy to Tata Steel UK. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.
The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of DBT’s assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.
Information about the subsidy provided by DBT
The Department for Business and Trade is a public authority. The Department for Business and Trade is proposing to award Tata Steel UK Limited a capital grant of up to £500m, to enable investment into greener steel production at the Port Talbot site, currently the UK’s largest single industrial carbon emitter.
This grant is part of a larger potential capital investment from the company totalling £1.25 billion. The proposal is subject to employee consultation and includes replacing existing Blast Furnaces at Port Talbot with an Electric Arc Furnace.
This investment would reduce the UK’s entire carbon emissions by around 1.5%. The subsidy would be ringfenced for the purposes of decarbonisation, and used solely for the installation of the Electric Arc Furnace and associated works/plant. The subsidy would be paid in arrears against milestones to be agreed, reimbursing Tata Steel UK Limited for approved capital expenditure.
Information for third parties
If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning DBT’s proposed subsidy, please send your comments before 5pm on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Please send your submissions to us at: sau-tatasteel@cma.gov.uk copying the public authority: steel.comms@businessandtrade.gov.uk
Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).
Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with DBT. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to DBT together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with DBT using the email address provided above.
The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.
For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Contacts
- CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk
Published 21 December 2023
Last updated 6 February 2024 + show all updates
La CNMC investiga posibles prácticas anticompetitivas en el mercado de servicios de consultoría y asistencia técnica en ingeniería
06 Feb 2024 |Competencia Nota de prensa
- Afectarían al reparto de licitaciones convocadas para la prestación de servicios de consultoría y asistencia técnica en ingeniería, en particular, de planificación, construcción y explotación de carreteras.
- Del 30 de enero al 2 de febrero la CNMC realizó inspecciones en las sedes de varias empresas que operan en ese mercado.
- Estas inspecciones constituyen un paso preliminar a la posible incoación de un expediente sancionador.
La Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) investiga posibles prácticas anticompetitivas en el mercado de servicios de consultoría y asistencia técnica en ingeniería. En concreto, consistirían en acuerdos y/o prácticas concertadas de reparto de licitaciones convocadas para la prestación de servicios de consultoría y asistencia técnica en ingeniería, en particular, de planificación, construcción y explotación de carreteras. Las inspecciones se llevaron a cabo entre el 30 de enero y el 2 de febrero de 2024.
Estas inspecciones suponen un paso preliminar en el proceso de investigación de las supuestas conductas anticompetitivas y no prejuzgan el resultado de la investigación ni la culpabilidad de las empresas inspeccionadas. Si como resultado de la inspección se encontrasen indicios de prácticas prohibidas se incoará un expediente sancionador.
La CNMC recuerda que los acuerdos entre competidores constituyen una infracción muy grave de la legislación de competencia, que puede conllevar multas de hasta el 10 % del volumen de negocios total de las empresas infractoras. De hecho, la investigación de los cárteles constituye una de las prioridades de actuación de la CNMC, dada la especial gravedad de sus consecuencias sobre los consumidores y el correcto funcionamiento de los mercados.
Para ello se cuenta, entre otros, con el programa de clemencia que permite a las empresas que forman parte de un cártel beneficiarse de la exención del pago de la multa, siempre y cuando aporten elementos de prueba que posibiliten a la CNMC su detección, o de una reducción del importe de la multa que pudiera imponérsele, si aporta información con valor añadido significativo, en relación con una investigación ya iniciada por la CNMC.
Además de la exención del pago de la multa o la reducción de su cuantía, las empresas solicitantes de clemencia también quedan exceptuadas de la prohibición de contratar establecida en el artículo 71 de la Ley de Contratos del Sector Público para los sancionados por infracción grave en materia de falseamiento de la competencia. Ello es así en aplicación del artículo 72.5 de la citada ley, y de los artículos 65.4 y 66.5 de la Ley de Defensa de la Competencia, en los que se regula el programa de clemencia.
La CNMC también dispone de una plataforma online de colaboración ciudadana para la detección de cárteles. Esta plataforma, denominada Sistema de Informantes de Competencia Anónimos (SICA), permite informar de forma anónima sobre prácticas anticompetitivas, tales como acuerdos entre empresas competidoras para la fijación de precios u otras condiciones comerciales, reparto de los mercados o de los clientes, o repartos fraudulentos de las licitaciones públicas o privadas.
Contenido relacionado:
- Guía sobre contratación pública
- Programa de clemencia
- Sistema de Informantes de Competencia Anónimos (SICA)
- Comunicación 1/2023, de 13 de junio (prohibición de contratar)
Documento no oficial destinado a los medios de comunicación y que no vincula a la CNMC. Reproducción permitida solo si se cita a la fuente.
La CNMC inicia un expediente sancionador contra la empresa de armamento militar Rheinmetall
05 Feb 2024 |Competencia Nota de prensa
- En febrero de 2023, la CNMC autorizó la compra de Expal Systems por Rheinmetall.
- Posteriormente la CNMC tuvo conocimiento de que la información aportada por Rheinmetall, en la que se basó la autorización, podría haber sido incompleta y engañosa.
La Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) ha iniciado un expediente sancionador contra Rheinmetall, A.G. por una posible obstrucción a la labor de la CNMC. La empresa de armamento militar habría aportado información incompleta y engañosa en el marco de la notificación de la compra de Expal Systems (SNC/DC/081/23).
Esta obstrucción habría vulnerado el artículo 62.3.c) de la Ley de Defensa de la Competencia.
Obstrucción de la labor de la CNMC
La CNMC autorizó en febrero de 2023 la compra de Expal Systems por Rheinmetall (C/1368/23). No obstante, un cliente de las partes recurrió la autorización ante la Audiencia Nacional.
A raíz del recurso, la CNMC abrió una información reservada para comprobar si la operación afectaba a una serie de mercados (fabricación y comercialización de nitrocelulosa, nitroglicerina y pasta húmeda), que Rheinmetall habría omitido durante la notificación. Además, parte de la información aportada por la empresa podría haber sido engañosa.
Estas prácticas supondrían una infracción grave de la normativa de competencia y podrían implicar una sanción de hasta el 5 % del volumen de negocios total de la empresa infractora en el ejercicio anterior al de la imposición de la multa.
La incoación de este expediente no prejuzga el resultado final de la investigación. Se abre ahora un período máximo de 3 meses para la instrucción del expediente y su resolución por la CNMC.
Contenido relacionado:
- SNC/DC/081/23: Rheinmetall
- C/1368/23: Rheinmetall/Expal
- Nota de prensa (13/03/2023): La CNMC autorizó ocho operaciones de concentración en el mes de febrero
- Blog (25/04/2017): En la CNMC vigilamos las concentraciones entre las empresas
Documento no oficial, destinado a los medios de comunicación, y que no vincula a la CNMC. Reproducción permitida solo si se cita la fuente.
Commission welcomes continued airline competition on the routes from Amsterdam to the US
Page contents
The European Commission welcomes the positive developments at Amsterdam airport enabling new entrant JetBlue Airways Corporation (‘JetBlue’) to continue operating at the airport over the IATA Summer 2024 Season.
The Commission has actively and closely monitored the evolution of the market conditions at Amsterdam airport. Specifically, this concerned the degree of congestion of the airport and the operations of the Blue Skies joint venture (‘JV’) between Air France-KLM Group, Delta and Virgin Atlantic, to identify any risk of serious and irreparable damage to competition for transatlantic traffic, in particular on the Amsterdam-New York route. The Commission stood ready to intervene with interim measures in case JetBlue did not secure appropriate access to Amsterdam airport for the IATA Summer 2024 Season.
Between 2010 and 2015, the Commission investigated three JVs related to transatlantic passenger services: (i) Oneworld Atlantic Joint Business(American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair and Iberia), (ii) Star A++ (Air Canada, United Airlines and Lufthansa), and (iii) the TAJV between Skyteammembers Air France-KLM Group, Alitalia and Delta. In 2020, the Blue Skies JV between Air France-KLM Group, Delta and Virgin Atlantic replaced the TAJV and the former JV between Delta and Virgin Atlantic.
The JVs bring together EU and US airlines, which agree to combine their resources and share revenues on transatlantic routes linking their hub airports, as well as routes that connect those hubs to certain ‘behind and beyond’ destinations in Europe and the US.
As a result of its investigations, the Commission found that, on certain hub-to-hub transatlantic routes such as Amsterdam-New York, the entry of a new competitor or the expansion of an existing competitor was necessary to remedy the distortive effects of the joint ventures.
In late IATA Summer 2023 Season, US carrier JetBlue started offering daily direct passenger transport services on the Amsterdam-New York and Amsterdam-Boston routes. JetBlue’s entry revived competition to the benefit of consumers between the three airlines offering direct transatlantic services at Amsterdam airport, namely: two Blue Skies members (KLM and Delta) and United Airlines.
However, due to the tight capacity constraints at Amsterdam airport, JetBlue had not been able to obtain all of the slots it had requested during the initial phases of the slot allocation procedure for the IATA Summer 2024 Season. There was therefore a risk that JetBlue would have had to discontinue its operations on those routes as of 30 March 2024.
JetBlue has improved its slot portfolio at Amsterdam airport during the later phases of the slot allocation procedure and has eventually obtained all the slots it needs to continue operating at Amsterdam airport throughout the IATA Summer 2024 Season. As a result, consumers will not be deprived of choice at a time of strong demand for transatlantic services.
The Commission will continue its monitoring ahead of the IATA Summer 2025 Season.
Related topics
Print friendly pdf
Air France/KLM/Delta/Virgin Atlantic
English
33.309, kB – PDF
50+1 proceeding – Current stage of the proceeding
Date of issue:06.02.2024
In its proceeding to assess under competition law the so-called 50+1 rule, the Bundeskartellamt has informed Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) and the third parties admitted to the proceeding of the current stage of and the next steps in the proceeding.
In its assessment under competition law of DFL’s proposals for amending its League Statutes (see press release of 13 July 2023), the Bundeskartellamt now also has to take into consideration the European Court of Justice’s most recent case law. The Court passed three judgments on 21 December 2023 clarifying the relation between sports association rules and competition law (case C-333/21 “European Superleague Company”; case C 124/21 “ISU”; case C-680/21 “Royal Antwerp”).
Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “We will examine these judgments and discuss what effect they may have on our assessment and the next steps in the 50+1 proceeding.
”
The proceeding will be continued by the Bundeskartellamt’s 6th Decision Division, which generally deals with sport and media. Until now the 11th Decision Division has been in charge of the proceeding. Due to necessary organisational restructuring, this Decision Division is now mainly responsible for abuse control relating to energy price relief measures. The 6th Decision Division, on the other hand, is also responsible for matters such as assessing DFL’s sale of the media rights to football matches (see, for example, press release of 30 January 2024). Having all proceedings relating to sports association rules handled by one Decision Division will help ensure a consistent implementation of the European Court of Justice’s judgments mentioned above.
The fact that the 50+1 proceeding will be continued by the 6th Decision Division also resolves the allegations of bias against the previous case handlers raised by HAM International Limited, a company admitted to the proceeding owned by Hassan Ismaik, an investor in TSV 1860 München. Allegations of bias were also made against a member of the 6th Decision Division who will continue to be involved in the proceeding. However, an extensive internal investigation has shown that these allegations were unfounded.
Press release (pdf)
Casos
CADE
Ato de Concentração nº: 08700.006814/2023-77
Requerentes: MINERVA S.A. E MARFRIG GLOBAL FOODS S.A.
Advogados das Requerentes: Onofre Carlos de Arruda Sampaio, André Cutait de Arruda Sampaio, Suzane Nascimento (MINERVA S.A.), Victor Santos Rufino, Victor Cavalcanti Couto, Maria Carolina Bernardo de Souza, Victoria de Almeida Richa e outros (MARFRIG GLOBAL FOODS S.A.).
Peticionante: CONFEDERAÇÃO DA AGRICULTURA E PECUÁRIA DO BRASIL (“CNA”)
Advogados da Peticionante: Carlos Bastide Horbach, Carolina Carvalhais Vieira de Melo, Elisabete Ribeiro Alcântara Lopes, Fabrício Sousa Cunha, Luiz Fabiano de Oliveira Rosa, Rhuan Rafael Lopes de Oliveira, Rodrigo de Oliveira Kaufmann, Rodrigo Hugueney do Amaral Mello, Rudy Maia Ferraz, Taciana Machado de Bastos, Viviane Faulhaber Dutra de Magalhães e Welber Pereira dos Santos
Com fulcro no §1º do art. 50 da Lei nº 9.784, de 1999, integro as razões da Nota Técnica nº 2/2024/CGAA1/SGA1/SG/CADE (ut doc. SEI nº 1336885) à presente decisão, inclusive como sua motivação. Pelos fundamentos apontados na Nota Técnica citada, decido pelo deferimento do pedido de intervenção como terceiro interessado da Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (“CNA”) (representada por Carlos Bastide Horbach, Carolina Carvalhais Vieira de Melo, Elisabete Ribeiro Alcântara Lopes, Fabrício Sousa Cunha, Luiz Fabiano de Oliveira Rosa, Rhuan Rafael Lopes de Oliveira, Rodrigo de Oliveira Kaufmann, Rodrigo Hugueney do Amaral Mello, Rudy Maia Ferraz, Taciana Machado de Bastos, Viviane Faulhaber Dutra de Magalhães e Welber Pereira dos Santos), nos termos do art. 50, I, da Lei nº 12.529, de 2011.
CMA
- SpreadEx / Sporting Index merger inquiry
- 6 February 2024
- Competition and Markets Authority case
Comissão Europeia
SILVER LAKE / DIGITALBRIDGE / VANTAGE NA DATA CENTER ASSETS
Merger
Last decision date: 05.02.2024 Super simplified procedure
MC / DTHAG / MMC / JV
Merger
Last decision date:05.02.2024 Super simplified procedure