Brussels, 24/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 24 January, the European Commission announced the opening of a formal investigation to ascertain whether the Spanish and Portuguese telecoms incumbents Telefónica S.A. and Portugal Telecom SGPS S.A. have breached EU rules by agreeing not to compete with each other in their home markets.
The agreement being investigated was signed last year, when Telefónica acquired sole control over Telefónica's and PT's previously-held Brazilian joint venture Vivo. The Commission will also investigate whether the non-competition agreement pre-dates the Vivo deal, which is not concerned by this probe (which covers September 2010 to December 2011 inclusive). The investigation will also examine the preceding period to see whether a previous cooperation agreement on non-EU markets signed by the two companies in 1997 and notified to the Commission is not in reality a long-term non-competition strategy covering EU markets as well, particularly Spain and Portugal.
The opening of proceedings does not imply that the Commission has conclusive proof of an infringement but means that the Commission will deal with the case as a matter of priority. (F.G./transl.fl)