Memo: Antitrust: Commission welcomes Court judgment in Telefónica margin squeeze case

The European Commission welcomed on the 10 July 2014 the judgment by the EU Court of Justice confirming in full a Commission decision of 2007 that had fined Telefónica for a margin squeeze in the Spanish broadband market, in breach of EU antitrust rules. This judgment is important because it confirms the Commission's power to enforce competition law against abuses committed on regulated markets and the Commission's methodology to establish the existence of a margin squeeze.

In July 2007 the Commission fined the Spanish incumbent telecoms operator Telefónica €151 million for a very serious abuse of its dominant position in the Spanish broadband market.

ESO: Background information: Antitrust: Commission welcomes General Court judgments in Telefónica case http://www.europeansources.info/record/memo-antitrust-commission-welcomes-general-court-judgments-in-telefonica-case/

ESO: Background information: Judgments in Cases T-336/07 Telefónica and Telefónica de España v Commission and T-398/07 Spain v Commission http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-judgments-in-cases-t-336-07-telefonica-and-telefonica-de-espana-v-commission-and-t-398-07-spain-v-commission/

European Commission: RAPID: Press Release, IP/07/1011: Antitrust: Commission fines Telefónica over €151 million for over five years of unfair prices in the Spanish broadband market http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-07-1011_en.pdf

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