Brussels, 11/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is delighted with the European Court of Justice ruling on Thursday 10 July (see EUROPE 11119) that Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica has been abusing its dominant position.
The Court upheld the ruling of the General Court (see EUROPE 10585) which confirmed the fine of €151.875 million levied by the Commission on Telefonica in July 2007 for a margin squeeze in the Spanish broadband market, in breach of EU antitrust rules. The Commission, which viewed the actions of the Spanish group as an attempt to prevent the entry onto the market or the expansion of competitors, has thus been fully vindicated.
This makes clear, the Commission says, that the scope of application of Article 102 TFEU (on abuse by one or several companies of a dominant position on the internal market or a substantial part of it) cannot be limited by the existence of a regulatory framework in the electronic communications sector. “This judgment is important because it confirms the Commission's power to enforce competition law” and its “methodology to establish the existence of a margin squeeze”, the Commission says in a press release. (JK)