The evidence provided by the European Commission is neither clear nor sufficient, and therefore no more sanctions. The EU Court cancels the maxi-fine of 1.06 billion euros inflicted by the Community Antitrust against Intel for anti-competitive practices which, however, it has not been able to prove.
The legal tug-of-war that has dragged on for over ten years between Brussels and the US company ends with the victory of the multinational from Santa Clara. It was the Barroso Commission that turned the spotlight on the practices of the well-known brand. At the time, the decision to apply exclusive and selective discounts to some operators on its processors was contested. A practice that according to the then Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes, in fact caused distortions and restrictions on the market.
The maxi-fine was also the result of the disputed time frame. One of the elements that contributes to the sanctions is the duration of the illegal behavior. In the specific case, the period October 2002-December 2007 was affected. The fine was notified in May 2009.
Years later, the whole accusatory system of the Commission is dismantled, due to gaps and shortcomings of the accusing party itself. The Luxembourg courts recall that although an exclusivity rebate system set up by an undertaking in a dominant position on the market ‘may in principle be classified as a restriction of competition’, this is not the case in the present case. “In this case, it is only a simple presumption which cannot exempt the Commission from examining its anti-competitive effects.”
No certainty. ‘The analysis carried out by the Commission is incomplete and, in any event, does not allow it to be legally sufficient to demonstrate that the appellant’s disputed rebates were capable or capable of having anti-competitive effects’. In the impossibility of demonstrating the incorrect practice, it is impossible to intervene with the sanctioning elements. Therefore the sting is canceled.
It is not the first time that the European Commission has tried to stop the big players in the technology market. Even in the case of Apple, the house of the apple was accused of having received state aid against the rules for 13 billion euros. The Irish government was asked to recover the amount indicated and disputed, but in the end the Court of Justice of the EU proved Brussels wrong. Even in that case, the community executive was unable to provide sufficient evidence.