Antitrust is a blessing for consumers. Word of the Antitrust
Reports received, activities of the Guarantor and refunds to consumers. What emerges from the annual report of the Market and Competition Authority
Not just digital (in particular Balocco and Isybank ). In 2023, the activity of the Competition and Market Authority also focused on the sectors most exposed to inflationary tensions – such as energy, insurance and air transport – and on environmental sustainability (waste recycling, eco-sustainable mobility). The President of the Authority, Roberto Rustichelli, presented the 2024 Annual Report in the Sala della Regina in Montecitorio to provide an overview of the work carried out last year and provide the resulting numbers. Starting from a number: between 2015 and 2023 the benefits for businesses and consumers deriving from Antitrust activity reached approximately 8.4 billion euros, of which 710 million in the last year alone.
THE REPORTS
Among the elements of the speech that catch the eye there is certainly the large number of reports received in Piazza Verdi: between January 2023 and March 2024 (the annual report must be sent to the Prime Minister by 31 March) the Authority received 1,271 reports regarding competition and 34,595 regarding consumer protection.
THE ACTIVITIES
As regards the first competence (in chronological order) of the AGCM – competition – the Authority examined 99 concentration operations, of which 6 below threshold, concluded 8 proceedings relating to agreements, 6 relating to abuses of a dominant position and 1 regarding abuse of economic dependence. The sanctions amounted to 27,927,942, of which 12,777,147 for agreements restricting competition, 15,117,795 for abuse of a dominant position and 33,000 for omission of information.
As for consumer protection, again between January 2023 and March 2024, the Antitrust concluded 102 proceedings, of which 40 with ascertainment of the infringement and 48 with acceptance of the commitments. In 47 less serious cases, it instead ordered the dismissal after the companies had adapted to the indications formulated during moral suasion. The fines amounted to 42,127,500, of which 40,072,500 for incorrect practices and 2,055,000 for non-compliance.
And again: the investigation which ascertained the existence of a conflict of interest towards the undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Vittorio Sgarbi, has been concluded. As regards the Legality Rating, there were 8,785 decisions. There are currently 12,750 companies with ratings.
REFUNDS TO CONSUMERS
Good news for consumers comes from refunds: between January 2023 and March 2024 the Authority's activity for its second competence allowed over 122 million to be returned to 600,000 consumers.
Rustichelli also repeated what he said last week on "Porta a Porta", interviewed by Bruno Vespa, i.e. a possible reimbursement of at least 1 billion if the Regional Administrative Court and the Council of State were to confirm the Antitrust decision against six companies sanctioned last November for unfair business practices. In 2023, he highlighted, “the Authority closed eleven investigative proceedings relating to aggressive commercial practices aimed at inducing consumers to accept worsening unilateral changes in electricity and gas prices. The proceedings closed with commitments allowed the restoration of the initial contract conditions in favor of 500,000 consumers to whom over 115 million euros were returned. The conduct which was the subject of proceedings closed with a finding of the offense involved 4.5 million consumers and micro-businesses, with a conservatively estimated damage – based on the minimum consumption calculated by Arera – of over 1 billion euros".
THE RISKS FOR THE SINGLE MARKET
During his presentation speech, Rustichelli also placed emphasis on the single market which "remains the main engine of growth, productivity and competitiveness of the European economy. Nonetheless, on the one hand it is still imperfect and requires to be completed, while, on the other hand, it is exposed to growing risks of fragmentation, so its development can only be at the center of the priorities of the new European legislature". In this regard, he added, “of note, first of all, is the relaxation of state aid regulations decided at European level in March 2023 with the 'Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework', which provided, among other things, that member countries can match the subsidies promised by a non-EU state to encourage the establishment of companies on European soil".
For the president of the Antitrust, "a second critical issue arises from the growing use of special powers for the protection of national strategic interests, which conditions the performance of economic activities on the basis of criteria and logic extraneous to the market, altering competition". From this perspective, he highlighted, "the fact that in some cases the golden power, from an exceptional instrument created for the control of investments coming from States that do not guarantee reciprocity, has transformed into a general mechanism monitoring of assets considered strategic and of the corporate and financial affairs that affect them". Rustichelli then recalled one of his strong points, namely unfair tax competition between member countries, "which undermines not only fair competition between companies, but the very foundations of the common European home".
NEW POWERS AND THE INVESTIGATION INTO PRICING ALGORITHMS
The president also focused on the new powers given to the Authority during 2023 through the so-called Asset decree (legislative decree 10 August 2023, n. 104, converted with amendments by law 9 October 2023). Precisely thanks to the new discipline which has expanded the investigative and decision-making powers of Piazza Verdi, the Agcm has launched a fact-finding investigation into the use of algorithms by airlines, "in light of the high levels of prices on the routes connecting the peninsula with the larger islands". Once the investigation is concluded, "if the Authority deems a competitive problem likely to distort the correct functioning of the market" to the detriment of consumers, it may impose on the companies concerned "the necessary corrective measures, of a structural or behavioral nature, in line with the general principle of proportionality".
“The new powers of intervention – underlined the president of the Antitrust – fill a regulatory gap, allowing the Authority to intervene even in cases where competition is hindered or distorted not due to the behavior of companies or regulatory restrictions, but due to the very structure of the markets involved. As noted by the Council of State, it is therefore reasonable that the scope of application of the new legislation is not limited to the air passenger transport markets alone, but extends to all economic sectors".
Furthermore, with the legislative decree of 7 March 2023 n. 26, the sanctioning power of the Authority has been modified and the maximum legal limit in the case of unfair commercial practices has been increased from 5 to 10 million euros and in the case of non-compliance with emergency measures and injunctive measures to 10 million. However, in the case of sanctions relating to widespread infringements or infringements with a Union dimension, they could reach 4% of the turnover achieved in Italy or in the Member States affected by the infringement or 2 million if information on the turnover is not available.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/perche-antitrust-e-una-fortuna-per-i-consumatori/ on Wed, 17 Apr 2024 09:43:21 +0000.