Slovak Telekom/Deutsche Telekom AG: The Interplay Between EU Competition Law and Sector Specific Rules in the Electronic Communications Sector

Abstract

Abstract Case T-827/14, Deutsche Telekom AG v Commission, and Case T-851/14 Slovak Telekom a.s. v Commission, Judgments of 13 December 2018. Granting access to a product or service, which is required under sector specific regulation, on unfair, unreasonably complicated or delayed terms amounts to constructive refusal to supply, without the need to demonstrate that the regulated access product or service is an indispensable input. In addition, a margin squeeze test, to assess whether the difference between wholesale and retail prices is negative, should be carried out on a year-by-year basis, and not on a multi-period basis. Finally, when a parent is jointly and severally liable for anti-competitive conduct of its subsidiary, the liability of the parent can exceed that of the subsidiary only if it reflects the parent’s individual conduct in the infringement at issue.