competitionlaw

By a decision made on 12 January 2015 the the Swiss Competition Authority (Comco) has opened an investigation against several firms operating in the gravel and landfill sectors in the Canton of Bern. In particular, the Comco focused on two types of anti-competitive conducts. First, the Comco took the view that the parties agreed to fix prices and limit output. Second, the parties enjoyed a dominant position in these markets, which they abused in several ways. On the basis of the pieces of evidence collected, the allegedly abusive practices included refusal to supply third parties, discrimination against customers and making the conclusion of contracts conditional upon the customer's accepting not requested services. It is not clear from the press release of the Comco whether the second type of anti-competitive conducts amounted to a collective abuse of dominance as it seems to be the case. 

By a decision made on 18 December 2014 in the Case 14-D-19 , the French Competition A uthority (FCA) found many manufacturers to have put in practice a cartel in the market for home care products, imposing fines totalling up to € 345,2 million, and also a cartel in the market for personal care products for which the FCA levied a total of € 605,9 fines. The FCA started the investigation following a leniency application filed by three firms which were granted full immunity or fine reductions as they informed the FCA of the existence of the anti-competitive agreements. Further fine reductions were granted on the basis of the negotiated settlement procedure. The relevant product markets were all highly concentrated and the products concerned were 'must have products'. The FCA found that the cartelists coordinated their behaviours in a particularly sophisticated way. The cartelists arranged meetings in restaurants and also exchanged mail at their private homes. In this way the