4 … Merger control is undergoing One of the Autorité’s new priorities modernisation at both the French is sustainable development. and European levels. Why, and what are the initiatives What are the new provisions in this area? or developments in this area? For several months already, the Autorité has been We are delighted to see a major breakthrough in merger actively involved in discussions on how to take climate control in recent months, having driven the debate over issues into account in competition policy, and has the last few years. Indeed, we have worked hard to decided to place sustainable development at the heart develop control over "sub-threshold" transactions of its work. Further to the discussions on the integration that are structural for competition. There has been of sustainable development into the tasks of the a significant breakthrough on this point, as the "group of regulators" (sector regulators for broadcasting, European Commission has agreed to adapt its data privacy, financial markets, energy, ground approach as we suggested, so that national transportation, telecom, copyright, and the competition authorities can refer sensitive mergers Autorité de la concurrence), the Autorité intends to it for examination, even when they are not subject to be fully in line with the spirit of the Paris Agreement to national control. This may concern, for example, and the European Green Deal. In particular, it wishes to acquisitions by dominant undertakings or predatory target anticompetitive practices that may be harmful to or consolidating acquisitions by digital platforms, the environment. It already had the occasion to sanction or by biotechs in the healthcare sector, or acquisitions companies for such conduct in the ’floor coverings in sectors that are already highly concentrated. cartel’. There may be other similar cases in the future. And there has already been a first case within The European Commission and the Autorité are also this redefined framework, concerning a transaction considering how to deal with behaviour that is intended in the cancer screening sector. to promote sustainable development but may have Another additional tool has been included in the draft an anticompetitive element, such as agreements Digital Markets Act: an obligation for structural platforms, between competitors. or ’gatekeepers’, to inform the European Commission if they are planning a transaction. Finally, we have completed other important work to Joint purchasing agreements make it easier for companies by completely revamping in the food retail sector have our guidelines, which are a true "instruction manual", proliferated in recent years. by creating a fully online notification procedure What is the role of the Autorité and by streamlining control on various points. in this area and does it have the right tools to intervene effectively? This year, for the first time, the Autorité was able to use the new mechanisms introduced by the Egalim Law in 2018, allowing it to intervene in joint purchasing agreements. We opened investigations into several large-scale deals, prompting the major retailers involved to propose far-reaching commitments, including reducing the scope of the purchasing agreements in order to exclude certain product categories. Our objective is clear: to protect both upstream suppliers (agricultural producers, SMEs, VSEs) and downstream consumers. In this case, the deals in question - whether involving Auchan/Casino/ Metro/Schiever or Carrefour/Tesco - concerned retailer’s own brand products, which are known to be manufactured to a very large extent by SMEs and consumed in particular by the lowest-income population groups. We remain mobilised and vigilant on this subject. TROPER LAUNNA 0202 – erutuf evitisop erom a gniretsoF