Welcome to the 16th edition of Cartel Intel

This bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of recent cartel enforcement and competition law developments across key jurisdictions. Together, these developments reflect an enforcement landscape that remains highly active, increasingly nuanced, and procedurally demanding for companies and competition authorities alike. In particular,  we discuss a landmark German Court decision significantly reducing fines imposed by the German Federal Cartel Office in an aluminium forging case, underscoring the importance–and potential rewards–of judicial appeals. We also report on the Spanish National Court's annulment of major fines in the tobacco sector, reinforcing strict evidentiary standards for the Spanish Competition Authority to prove anticompetitive effects in information-exchange cases. Italy features prominently with substantial sanctions imposed by the Italian Competition Authority on fuel market operators for price signalling practices, illustrating the fine line between transparency and unlawful coordination. At EU level, we cover a significant Commission decision fining automotive starter battery manufacturers and their trade association a total of EUR 72 million for alleged price coordination. Last, the UK section analyses the UK Competition and Markets Authority's updated leniency guidance, marking the most significant reform in over a decade and aiming at reshaping incentives for cartel whistleblowers.

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