BUNDESKARTELLAMT PUBLISHES GENERAL AND INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC 2020 REPORTS

30.12.2020

The German Federal Cartel Office (“Bundeskartellamt”) published one general and one industry-specific report: Review of 2020 and 2020 Market Power Report on the Electricity Generation Sector.

About the Review of 2020 Report; Bundeskartellamt announced that in 2020 the Authority imposed fines in cartel proceedings totaling approx. 358 million euros, examined around 1,200 corporate mergers, received more than 120 applications for review in public procurement cases, and conducted important abuse of dominance proceedings. The Authority also handled numerous short-term requests for guidance on cooperation from companies facing the coronavirus crisis. Within the scope of its competencies in the area of consumer protection the Bundeskartellamt uncovered several consumer-unfriendly practices in the areas of smart TVs and online user reviews.

Besides that, the Bundeskartellamt also published a market power report which focuses on the conditions of competition in the electricity generation sector in 2020. The report stated that although the electricity demand has temporarily decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the market conditions in the electricity generation sector have barely changed in 2020. Also, the report showed that the process of phasing out coal-fired electricity generation, which commenced in 2020, and the ongoing nuclear phase-out would result in a further reduction of power generation capacities in the near future.

You can find the Bundeskartellamt’s statements about the Review of 2020 Report here and the 2020 Market Power Report on the Electricity Generation Sector here.

Should you have any queries and/or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr