Europe’s second-highest court on Thursday, December 13, slashed an EU antitrust fine handed down to Deutsche Telekom four years ago by about a third to €19 million (17.09 million pounds), saying that EU regulators had erred in calculating the penalty.
Deutsche Telekom welcomed the decision but said it was not convinced by all aspects of the judgment and would consider appealing to the European Court of Justice.
Europe’s largest telecoms provider and its Slovak Telekom unit were sanctioned by the European Commission in 2014 for squeezing out competitors by charging unfair wholesale prices in Slovakia.
The EU competition enforcer said the anti-competitive practice to shut out competitors from the Slovak market for broadband services lasted more than five years.
The two companies were given a joint fine of €38.84 million while Deutsche Telekom was also hit with an additional €31 million penalty.
The companies subsequently challenged the EU decision at the Luxembourg-based General Court.
The Court said a parent company’s liability can exceed that of the subsidiary if there are factors which reflect the former’s conduct for which it is held liable.
However, in this case, what was at fault was the basis used by the Commission for assessing the additional fine.
“Deutsche Telekom’s turnover is not capable of reflecting its individual conduct in the infringement at issue and … it therefore could not serve as a basis for the calculation of an additional fine imposed on the latter,” judges stated.
They also cut the joint fine from €38.84 million to €38.06 million.
Deutsche Telekom said it viewed as problematic the court’s finding that rulings in national competition cases can be treated as the basis for determining an antitrust violation under European law.
Further, Deutsche Telekom said in a statement, that the court had failed to provide clarity regarding procedural errors on the part of the European Commission’s economic analysis and calculation methods in the case.
The Commission may also appeal to the EU Court of Justice but only on points of law.
Full Content: Reuters
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Pfizer Settles Remaining Effexor XR Antitrust Claims for $25.5 Million
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
South Korean Regulator Approves LG Uplus and Kakao Mobility EV Charging Venture
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
Federal Judge Dismisses Doctors’ Antitrust Suit Against Ohio Health System
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount CEO Bob Bakish Steps Down as Merger Inches Closer
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
EU Brands Apple’s iPadOS as Gatekeeper in Tech Crackdown
Apr 29, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI