The EU’s highest court, the EU Court of Justice, denied BT Group’s efforts to overturn a 2009 order for the onetime telco monopoly to repay what authorities found to be state aid.
According to reports, BT Group and its pension fund lost their challenge of the European Commission’s earlier ruling that the company must repay up to $26.6 million in pension rule exemptions, which the Commission found to constitute illegal state aid. Reports say the Court rejected BT’s arguments entirely.
The Commission ruled in 2009 that BT’s Pension Scheme, which exempted the company from contributing to Britain’s Pension Protection Fund, gave the company an unfair advantage over rivals. A BT competitor first notified the Commission of the possible anticompetitive behavior.
In a statement, BT said it was “disappointed” by the ruling.
Full content: Bloomberg
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Japan’s Prime Minister Criticizes US Block on Nippon Steel-US Steel Deal
Feb 17, 2025 by
CPI
UAE Cabinet Announces New Merger Control Filing Thresholds Effective March 2025
Feb 17, 2025 by
CPI
UK Regulator Warns Topps Tiles Acquisition Could Hurt Competition
Feb 17, 2025 by
CPI
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson Backs Trump’s Authority to Remove Commissioners
Feb 17, 2025 by
CPI
South Korea Suspends Downloads of Chinese AI App DeepSeek Over Data Privacy Concerns
Feb 17, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon