Advocate General advises CJEU to dismiss Commission appeal in Intel

In 2022, Daniel Beard K.C. and Jack Williams acted for Intel before the General Court, securing the annulment of a €1.06 billion fine for an alleged abuse of dominance. See here.

The Commission appealed to the CJEU against that decision.

Today, Advocate General Medina has advised the Court of Justice (CJEU) to dismiss the European Commission’s appeal against that General Court judgment. At the Court’s request, the AG focusses upon two of the six grounds of appeal. Those two grounds alleged that the General Court had committed a series of errors and infringed the Commission’s rights of defence in the context of its examination of the as-efficient-competitor (AEC) test regarding two customer accounts.

In particular, AG Medina concludes that:

• None of the Commission’s submissions are capable of calling into question the General Court’s conclusion that the Commission’s decision failed to demonstrate the foreclosure effect of certain rebates granted by Intel
• The General Court did not commit any error by concluding that the Commission had proceeded on the basis of an assumption which was contrary to the foundation of the AEC test set out in the Commission’s decision.

Daniel and Jack act for Intel on the appeal and are also instructed by Intel in its interest claim, arising from the Commission’s failure to pay default interest following the General Court’s annulment of the fine. See here.