Fall Meeting 2022 Roundtable session 4 November 2022 COUNTRY UPDATE, FINLAND 2 A. No changes in team members 2 2 2 Traineeship in District Court until 30.4.2023 3 A. Important legislative developments Government Bill of 19 September 2022 on
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Presentation Transcript
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Fall Meeting 2022 Roundtable session
4 November 2022 COUNTRY UPDATE, FINLAND<br>
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2 A. No changes in team members 2 2 2 Traineeship in District Court until 30.4.2023<br>
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3 A. Important legislative developments Government Bill of 19 September 2022 on lowered thresholds for merger control notifications
Based on the proposal, a mandatory merger control notification obligation would apply where
the combined turnover of all the parties generated in Finland exceeds EUR 100 million;
the turnover generated in Finland of each of at least two parties to the transaction exceeds EUR 10 million.
No right to investigate mergers below these thresholds
Proposed by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority and included in the first draft published in January 3 3 3<br>
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4 B. Relevant case law with EU importance The Market Court imposed a penalty payment for prohibited resale price maintenance pursuant to its judgment of 11 August 2022 (case IKH)
The judgment concerned retailers’ online sales both on independent sites and on IKH’s own online platform
The FCCA submitted that the retail price maintenance also covered sales in brick and mortar shops but could not demonstrate it
The FCCA proposed a penalty payment of EUR 9 million on IKH, but the amount imposed by the Market Court remained at EUR 1.75 million<br>
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5 Case IKH IKH is an importing and ironmongery company, which operates both at the wholesale and retail levels directly and via wholly owned subsidiaries<br>
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6 Case IKH IKH had required its retailers to apply at least IKH’s recommended prices in online sales
IKH and authorized retailers had discussed the recommended retail prices of IKH products and the margin accruing to the retailers in various parts of the IKH retail chain
IKH had taken measures to restrict retailers’ ability to determine their own resale prices below the recommended prices
removed discounts from a retailer
prohibited some retailers from using the IKH trademark
terminated an authorized retailer’s distribution agreement<br>
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7 IKH brand’s own market place Retail price maintenance was prohibited also in IKH’s own online platform where independent retailers had the possibility to sell the IKH products (instead of setting up their own online store)
Cf. fulfilment contacts (para 193 of the new Guidelines)
the online platform which is operated by a group of independent retailers under a common brand and the operator determines the price for the sale of the goods and forwards orders to the retailers for fulfilment does not restrict competition
By contrast, where the undertaking that will provide the fulfilment services is selected by the customer, the imposition of a resale price by the supplier may restrict competition for the provision of the fulfilment services<br>
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8 C. Cases handled by the team Acquisition of Aurora Infrastructure Oy by Equitix, a UK based private equity firm
Aurora Infrastructure Oy operates two strategic industrial electricity distribution networks in Finland
Steel production by Outokumpu in Tornio
Petroleum refinery by Neste and some other industrial activities in Porvoo
Aurora specialises in owning, operating, and upgrading private electricity network infrastructure where reliability and availability are critical to customers operations<br>
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Case Aurora Infrastructure Oy No Merger control filing because Equitix had only minor business in Finland
Detailed FDI assessment
Qualified as a “defence industry enterprise”, not just “essential to the security of supply”
Acts in a critical position within a supply chain where products and services important for the national military defence are produced
Indirect commitments to the authorities
Thus, any further acquisition to be notified 9<br>
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10 State aid notification SA.104267, Liquidity support to municipal electricity companies
Under the notified aid scheme, municipalities and Municipality Finance Plc may grant loans up to EUR 5 billion on preferential terms to municipal electricity companies that are in urgent need of liquidity because of sharply increased collateral requirements in the current turmoil on the energy markets
The scheme is based on the Commission’s Temporary Crisis Framework for State aid measures to support the economy following Russia’s war against Ukraine<br>
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11 D. Publications and other European State Aid Law Quarterly: Annotation on the Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-890/19 P Fortischem a.s. v European Commission
Economic Continuity in State Aid Recovery Cases<br>
