The Behaviour of Dominant Firms and the Principle of Equal Opportunities: Lessons From the SEN Antitrust Saga Case Comment to the Servizio Elettrico Nazionale Judgment of the Court of Justice of 12 May 2022, Case C-377/20

• Authors: Laura Zoboli

Abstracts

FR

Ce commentaire concerne l’affaire Servizio Elettrico Nazionale (SEN) qui découle du comportement d’un opérateur historique – Enel S.p.A. – appelé à faire face au processus de libéralisation du marché italien de l’électricité. En particulier, l’ancien monopoleur légal aurait travaillé pour consolider sa position dominante sur le marché de la production d’électricité, en refusant à ses rivaux l’accès à une ressource qui aurait été non reproductible et d’une importance stratégique pour être compétitif sur le marché libéralisé de la distribution d’électricité. Cet arrêt est d’une importance fondamentale car la Cour de justice y discute des objectifs de la législation antitrust et de la notion d’abus d’exclusion. De plus, à la lumière de l’interprétation pratique de l’arrêt, il est important de se demander si la CJUE aurait développé le même raisonnement si le marché pertinent n’avait pas concerné un secteur en cours de libéralisation, tel que le secteur de l’électricité. Le commentaire se termine par une référence à l’affaire Unilever, plus récente, dans laquelle la Cour de justice semble confirmer l’opportunité d’appliquer le test du concurrent aussi efficace aux pratiques non tarifaires, même en l’absence d’un processus de libéralisation du marché.

EN

This commentary concerns the Servizio Elettrico Nazionale (SEN) case that stems from the conduct of an incumbent operator – Enel S.p.A. – called upon to confront the liberalization process of the Italian electricity market. In particular, the former legal monopolist allegedly worked to consolidate its dominant position in the electricity production market, by denying its rivals access to a resource that would have been non-replicable and of strategic importance to compete in the liberalized electricity distribution market. This ruling is of fundamental importance as the Court of Justice discusses therein the objectives of antitrust law and the notion of exclusionary abuse. Moreover, in light of the practical interpretation of the ruling, it is important to ask whether the CJEU would have developed the same reasoning if the relevant market had not concerned an industry undergoing liberalization, such as the electricity sector. The commentary closes by referencing the more recent Unilever case, where the Court of Justice seems to confirm the opportunity of applying the “as efficient competitor test” to non-price practices even, in the absence of a market liberalization process.

Keywords

EN

liberalization; abuse of dominant position; 102; exclusionary effects; equally efficient competitor

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warszawski. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Zarządzania
• Journal: Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies
• Year: 2023
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 28
• Pages: 153-171

Dates

published

2023

Contributors

author

Laura Zoboli

• Uniwersytet Warszawski

• https://orcid.org/0000000154101489

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Identifiers

DOI

10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2023.16.28.8

Biblioteka Nauki

43469297