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☆ Biden's IRA has left Europe blind-sided. And playing catchup could lead to 2 big mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"U.S. legislation doesn't pass overnight," Emre Peker, director at the consultancy group Eurasia, told CNBC, adding that the EU could have acted faster. Luisa Santos, deputy director at BusinessEurope, a group of business federations, told CNBC that "it is still a bit early to say who will invest where." watch nowBelgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told CNBC that more state aid "is not a good answer." Several other experts have also raised concerns about easing state aid rules. Slow to respondIn addition to challenges with state aid relaxation, timing is also a risk.

☆ Exclusive: European telecoms' advertising venture set for EU approval -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone's (VOD.L) plan to take on Big Tech with their own advertising joint venture is set to win unconditional EU antitrust approval, people familiar with the matter said. The joint venture marks the telecoms sector's first attempt to take on Meta (META.O) and Alphabet'S (GOOGL.O) Google in the lucrative online advertising sector and diversify their revenue streams. Google is the world's leading seller of online advertising, well ahead of Meta, with the business generating about 80% of its revenue. The EU competition enforcer describes the joint venture as a privacy-led, digital identification solution to support the digital marketing and advertising activities of brands and publishers. Earlier this week, pan-European consumer lobbying group BEUC voiced concerns over how data would be collected by the joint venture and how the partners aim to get users' consent.

☆ Sony's gaming chief met EU's Vestager on Microsoft's Activision deal -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Sony's gaming chief Jim Ryan met EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager on Wednesday to discuss Microsoft's (MSFT.O) $69 billion bid for "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O), a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Microsoft is looking to Activision to help it compete better with leaders Tencent (0700.HK) and Sony (6758.T). The person declined to provide details of the discussion between Ryan and Vestager. The European Commission, which is scheduled to rule on the deal by April 11, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sued to block the deal while UK regulators have also expressed concerns.

☆ Comply with EU rules or face ban, Breton tells TikTok CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Supantha Mukherjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We will not hesitate to adopt the full scope of sanctions to protect our citizens if audits do not show full compliance," Breton said. TikTok said in response that it was committed to the DSA, and had also outlined its efforts to comply with other EU legislation, such as GDPR data protections rules and a code of practice on disinformation. "The safety of our users is paramount," Caroline Greer, TikTok's director of public policy and government relations, tweeted. It is not acceptable that behind seemingly fun and harmless features, it takes users seconds to access harmful and sometimes even life-threatening content," Breton said. "The DSA includes dissuasive sanctions including a ban in the EU in case of repeated serious breaches threatening the life or safety of people," he said.

☆ Spotify joins media firms to urge EU action against Apple's 'unfair' practices
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 18 (Reuters) - Music streaming service Spotify Technology (SPOT.N), along with other media firms such as Deezer, urged the European Commission to take action against Apple Inc (AAPL.O) for anticompetitive and unfair practices, in a joint industry letter on Wednesday. The letter, addressed to the European Union antitrust regulator's Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, demanded the Commission to act fast for the welfare of European consumers. Spotify has for years accused Apple of abusing its market position using its App Store rules to stifle competition. "We are writing to you to call for swift and decisive action by the European Commission against anticompetitive and unfair practices by certain global digital gatekeepers, and Apple in particular," read the letter, which was signed by chief executives of media firms Schibsted, Proton and Basecamp. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ E.U. outlines plan for clean tech future boosted by subsidies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“We know that we have a small window to invest in clean tech and innovation to gain leadership before the fossil fuel economy becomes obsolete,” von der Leyen said. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 17, 2023. “We have a compelling need to make this net-zero transition without creating new dependencies,” von der Leyen said. already waved through 672 billion euros ($727.5 billion) in aid to allow member states to deal with the impact of the war in Ukraine, any E.U. member states, European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager wrote last week that the U.S. plan “risks luring some of our E.U.

☆ TikTok CEO, EU's Vestager chatted about data harvesting, spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew and the EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager discussed on Tuesday "aggressive" data harvesting and surveillance in the United States, the European Commission said. The short-video app, which is owned by Chinese technology conglomerate ByteDance, last month admitted that some of its employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists to try to identify the source of information leaks to the media. "At the meeting the parties also discussed GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and matters of privacy and data transfer obligations with a reference to the recent press reporting on aggressive data harvesting and surveillance in the U.S," it said. Chew is scheduled to meet Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson after Vestager. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ TikTok CEO Plans to Meet European Union Regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Stu Woo | Laurence Norman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is set to meet with the European Union’s antitrust chief and other officials. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to meet with European Union officials and regulators in Brussels next week, as the popular app faces heightened scrutiny in Washington over its Chinese ownership. Mr. Chew is scheduled to meet with Margrethe Vestager , the executive vice president of the EU’s executive arm and its top competition regulator, on Tuesday. He also plans to meet Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders , Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova .

☆ TikTok CEO to meet EU antitrust chief Vestager on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 6 (Reuters) - TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew will meet the European Union's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in Brussels on Jan. 10, a calendar released by the European Commission showed on Friday. Chew will also meet Values and Transparency Commissioner Vera Jourova and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on the same day, the calendar showed. A spokesman for the European Commission said the meetings could be expected to cover issues such as the protection of personal data by online platforms such as TikTok and the implementation of the EU's Digital Services Act. He declined to comment on further specific details of the meetings or who requested them. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Bart Meijer Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Separately, Apple may allow other companies to set up app marketplaces on its iPhone, Bloomberg reported. But that won’t trouble Amazon much: private-label sales were 1% of its total, founder Jeff Bezos told the Congress in 2020. Any offer from Apple to allow competing app stores carries a similar risk. Chief Executive Tim Cook could conceivably try the same trick with third-party iPhone app stores, for example by making users plug their device into a computer. These include allowing app stores operated by third parties on its iPhone, according to the report.

☆ Internet providers warn against EU plans to make Big Tech cover telcos costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Martin Coulter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - A group representing internet service providers across Europe said on Tuesday that a proposal to make Big Tech companies pay towards telecom operators' network costs could create systemic weakness in critical infrastructure. In September, European Commission’s industry chief Thierry Breton said he would launch a consultation on so-called “fair share" payments in early 2023, before proposing legislation. Sanghani added that legislators should not prioritise "administrative rules [over] technical necessity or a high-quality internet" for those in Europe. Critics of the proposed SPNP (Sending Party Network Pays) model have warned the so-called "traffic tax" could lead content-driven platforms like Facebook and other social media platforms to route their services via ISPs (internet service providers) outside of the EU. This could have a knock-on effect for users in Europe, with platforms potentially compromising quality and security for the sake of avoiding fees.

☆ Amazon to make big business changes in E.U. settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon will make major changes to its business practices to end competition probes in Europe by giving customers more visible choices when buying products and, for Prime members, more delivery options, European Union regulators said Tuesday. The E.U.’s executive Commission said it accepted the legally binding commitments from Amazon to resolve two antitrust investigations. “As Amazon cannot populate both Buy Boxes with its own retail offers, this will give more visibility to independent sellers,” Vestager said. It will stop discriminating against Prime sellers that don’t use its own logistics and delivery services and will let Prime members freely choose any delivery service. The settlement comes amid a wider crackdown by regulators in Europe and elsewhere on Big Tech companies.

☆ Amazon reaches settlement in three EU antitrust cases, avoids fine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In the first case, Amazon faced charges of using its size, power and data to push its own products to gain an unfair advantage over rival merchants that also use its platform. The company has agreed not to use sellers' data for its own competing retail business and its private label products. The second case was about the equal treatment of sellers when ranking their offers for the "buy box" on its website that generates the bulk of its sales. In the third case, Amazon agreed that sellers under Amazon's Prime feature can choose their own logistics and delivery services, other than those approved and chosen by Amazon. These commitments address our preliminary competition concerns about Amazon practices on its e-commerce marketplace," EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told a news conference.

☆ EU accepts Amazon commitments in antitrust agreement affecting data and sellers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The agreement includes several multi-year concessions offered by Amazon, including a commitment not to use third-party sellers’ data to benefit Amazon’s own marketplace listings, a practice that policymakers around the world have claimed is anticompetitive. As part of the deal, Amazon said it will treat all sellers on its platform equally when determining which seller to give top placement on Amazon product listings, and also agreed to several commitments linked to sellers’ terms under Amazon Prime. Those commitments will last for seven years, while the restrictions on Amazon’s use of seller data will last for five years. “Today’s decision sets new rules for how Amazon operates its business in Europe,” said EU Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a release. They cover the use of data, the selection of sellers in the Buy Box and the conditions of access to the Amazon Prime Program.

☆ Amazon avoids multibillion-dollar fine as it reaches EU antitrust settlement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, announced Tuesday that Amazon had made a series of commitments to address allegations that the company was using independent sellers' data to its advantage. In November 2020, the Commission issued Amazon a statement of objections over its "systematic" use of non-public business data from independent sellers to benefit its own retail business. One of the commitments was to stop using non-public data on independent sellers for its retail business or for selling branded goods and private label products. In Italy, Amazon has agreed separate legal remedies with the country's competition regulator relating to the buy box and Prime. "With these new rules, competing independent retailers, carriers and European customers will have more opportunities and choice."

☆ EU warns Meta over Facebook Marketplace antitrust breach
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

European Union's antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a statement that she is concerned that Meta ties its dominant social network Facebook to its online classified ad services, which is called Facebook Marketplace. "This means Facebook users have no choice but to have access to Facebook Marketplace," she said. Facebook Marketplace was launched in 2016 and is used in 70 countries to buy and sell items. The Commission said on Monday that it was concerned that Meta is imposing "unfair trading conditions" on competitors of its own classified ads service, Facebook Marketplace, that want to advertise on its social networks Facebook or Instagram. The EU competition enforcer launched an investigation into Facebook in June last year, focusing on whether the social network unfairly uses advertisers' data to compete with them in the online classified ads sector.

☆ Meta could face $11.8 billion fine as EU charges tech giant with breaching antitrust rules
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Commission took issue with Meta's pairing of Facebook Marketplace with its personal social network. The European Union on Monday issued Facebook parent company Meta with a list of objections over of its online classifieds business, Facebook Marketplace. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said that it found Meta breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the markets for online classified ads. It said it was concerned this arrangement gives Facebook Marketplace a "substantial distribution advantage that competitors cannot match." Tim Lamb, head of EMEA competition at Meta, said: "The claims made by the European Commission are without foundation."

☆ Deutsche bank, Rabobank hit with EU antitrust charge over bond cartel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People are silhouetted next to the Deutsche Bank's logo prior to the bank's annual meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Kai PfaffenbachBRUSSELS, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Rabobank (RABO.UL) were charged by EU antitrust regulators on Tuesday of taking part in a government bond cartel, the latest move against a sector which has racked up millions of euros in fines for various competition violations. Deutsche Bank said it does not expect any sanction, suggesting that it may have alerted the cartel to the authorities. "Deutsche Bank has proactively cooperated with the European Commission in this matter and as a result has been granted conditional immunity. In accordance with the European Commission’s guidelines, Deutsche Bank does not expect a financial penalty," the German lender said.

They issued a joint statement after the third ministerial-level of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) vowed to work constructively to resolve it. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Monday called the $430 billion U.S. Inflation Reduction Act discriminatory and urged steps be taken before year's end to modify the law. It offers consumers tax credits of $7,500 for new purchases of Tesla (TSLA.O), Ford (F.N) and other North American-made EVs that the EU fears will significantly hurt European. Other participants included U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager. During a state visit to Washington last week, French President Emmanuel Macron told broadcaster CBS it was a "job killer" for Europe.

☆ EU Tells Illumina How to Unwind Deal to Buy Cancer-Test Developer Grail
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Margrethe Vestager, the head of the EU’s competition watchdog, which blocked Illumina’s acquisition of Grail in September. BRUSSELS—The European Union on Monday set out the details of an order requiring Illumina Inc. to unwind its $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer-test developer Grail Inc. The European Commission, the bloc’s competition watchdog, prohibited the acquisition in September over concerns that it would stifle innovation and hurt consumer choice. Illumina, which makes genetic-sequencing products, completed the acquisition in August 2021.

☆ Tax credits for EU electric vehicles to dominate U.S. trade talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. The European Union's top trade official on Monday called for urgent steps before the end of the year to modify a U.S. climate law that would cut off the bloc's electric vehicles from U.S. tax credits, calling the measure discriminatory. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking to Deutsche Welle before a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) said the law threatened to undermine progress made by the year-old transatlantic forum. Dombrovskis said the EU was looking at how to make its own subsidies "more efficient" and potential increases in joint U.S.-EU financing. Participants include U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Executive Vice Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager.

☆ Monday's EU-US trade talks overshadowed by tax concerns on climate measure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec 5 (Reuters) - Top European Union officials intend to complain loudly to their U.S. counterparts at a trade meeting on Monday about the bloc's electric vehicles being cut off from tax credits in U.S. President Joe Biden's signature climate law. "The Inflation Reduction Act will be part of the range of discussions on trade," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said in a statement. The U.S. side was "committed to continuing to understand EU concerns" through a newly established task force, the spokesperson added. European and South Korean officials criticized the Inflation Act at the G20 Summit in Indonesia last month. French officials say they are hopeful an executive order from the White House could give European nations a break, without the need for seeking revisions from Congress - a move the White House wants to avoid.

☆ EU to adapt state aid schemes in response to U.S. subsidy package, von der Leyen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The EU will adapt its state aid rules to prevent an exodus of investment triggered by a new U.S. green energy subsidy package, the bloc's chief executive said on Sunday. "Competition is good ... but this competition must respect a level playing field," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a speech in the Belgian city of Bruges. "The (U.S.) Inflation Reduction Act should make us reflect on how we can improve our state aid frameworks and adapt them to a new global environment," she added. The topic is one of several on the agenda of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council meeting on Dec. 5. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Gareth Jones and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kronospan's remedies did not address concerns on Polish deal, EU's Vestager says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Austrian wood panel maker Kronospan failed to allay EU antitrust concerns over its bid for German wood maker Pfleiderer's Polish unit, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Wednesday after the companies scrapped the deal. The European Commission opened a full-scale investigation into the deal in April and had subsequently planned to veto it, a person familiar with the matter said. The EU competition enforcer said remedies offered by Kronospan failed to ease its concerns over the creation of a dominant player in the raw and melamine-coated particleboards markets in Poland and the Baltics. "As the remedies offered by Kronospan did not address our competition concerns, we could not clear the transaction. We take note of Kronospan's decision to abandon their deal," she said.

☆ Spain to announce details on mortgage relief measures next Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Spanish government expects to unveil details of mortgage relief measures to help vulnerable households and middle-class clients cope with rising borrowing costs on such loans at the next cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the economy minister said. Nadia Calvino told reporters on Friday the government and banks were finalising work on expanding and improving an existing industry-wide code of good practice for that purpose. "I hope that in the next few hours we will reach an agreement so that we can present it on Tuesday," Calvino said during a joint news conference with European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager. Calvino said the government and lenders were also working on measures to support middle-class families that may be at risk as a result of an accelerated rise in interest rates by the European Central Bank translating into higher mortgage rates. Reporting by Jesús Aguado, Emma Pinedo and Inti Landauro; editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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