Sharing Economy: European Parliament call for EU level guidance on employment and social security questions

June 20, 2017

To regulate or not to regulate: This question becomes relevant for the sharing economy after last week’s European Parliament resolution calling for clear EU guidelines on the collaborative economy. The resolution is a response to the European Commission’s Communication on “A European agenda for the collaborative economy” from June 2016 which took a light or even non-regulation approach regarding this particular business model. The European Parliament is concerned that the Commission’s Communication did not…

Focus on Regulation

A Bigger Carrot: Commission Official Signals Availability of Larger Fine Discounts For Cooperation in Abuse Cases

By Kay Jebelli

February 9, 2017

In September 2016, the European Commission granted a 30% fine discount to Altstoff Recycling Austria for cooperating with an investigation into its alleged abuse of a dominant position in the Austria waste management market (see our previous post here). The discount was granted on the basis of Paragraph 37 of the 2006 Fining guidelines, which allows for a departure from the general fining methodology due to “the particularities of a given case”. It…

Global Media and Communications Watch

European Commission eyes new European rules for Big Data and Competition law

By Falk Schoening & Kay Jebelli

September 29, 2016

Earlier today Margarethe Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner, delivered a speech about Big Data and Competition law. The Commissioner made several key points that emphasize the growing economic and competitive significance of data and data aggregation. More importantly, the Commissioner announces that she will propose a new EU Directive to ensure the consistent application of competition law on big data issues throughout the EU. In particular companies dealing with large volumes of data should…

Focus on Regulation

WITH A CARROT AND A STICK: FINE DISCOUNTS FOR COOPERATION RETURN TO ABUSE ENFORCEMENT

By Falk Schoening & Kay Jebelli

September 28, 2016

On 20 September 2016, the European Commission fined Altstoff Recycling Austria (“ARA”) under Article 102 TFEU for abusing its dominant position in the Austrian waste management market by blocking its downstream competitors from reasonable access to its necessary upstream infrastructure. What’s unique in this case is that the EC granted ARA a 30% discount for cooperating with the investigation. This has been the first time in over a decade that the Commission reduced a fine…

Focus on Regulation

De-Regulating the Sharing Economy: European Commission Publishes Guidelines to Promote National Harmonization

By Falk Schoening & Kay Jebelli

June 3, 2016

Back in October 2015, as part of its Single Market Strategy, the European Commission declared that it would develop an agenda to encourage consumers, businesses and public authorities to engage confidently in the sharing economy (also known as the “collaborative economy”), where private individuals provide on-demand services to other people, without intermediaries. This peer-to-peer model is facilitated by online platforms which act as match makers. Millions of these transactions happen every day across Europe,…

Kay Jebelli

Sharing Economy: European Parliament call for EU level guidance on employment and social security questions

A Bigger Carrot: Commission Official Signals Availability of Larger Fine Discounts For Cooperation in Abuse Cases

European Commission eyes new European rules for Big Data and Competition law

WITH A CARROT AND A STICK: FINE DISCOUNTS FOR COOPERATION RETURN TO ABUSE ENFORCEMENT

De-Regulating the Sharing Economy: European Commission Publishes Guidelines to Promote National Harmonization

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