Case 1 Read the following article: Disneyland Paris faces pricing probe Disneyland Paris has a market share of 35% of all visits to theme parks in the European union. Although there is competition,there are a lot of other theme parks in Europe, these competitors all have small market shares of around 5% or less. The article states that under European law, Disneyland Paris is not allowed to stop consumers in some member states from shopping around for the best deals. Questions a. Explain why stopping consumers to shop for a better deal in another Member State is in breach of European law. b. If the reports are true explain why the behaviour of Disneyland Paris is in breach of Article 102 TFEU. Case 2 Intel has 80.6% of the market of Central Processing Units (CPUs). However, its nearest competitor AMD is introducing new, faster and cheaper CPUs. A lot of Intel clients threaten to buy their CPUs from AMD. Intel decides to take the following actions: – Intel rebates to Dell are conditional on Dell’s purchasing exclusively Intel CPUs. For example, in an internal Dell presentation, Dell noted that should Dell switch any part of its CPU supplies from Intel to its competitor AMD, Intel retaliation ‘could be severe and prolonged with impact to all LOBs [Lines of Business].’ – Intel rebates to HP are conditional in particular on HP’s purchasing no less than 95% of its CPU needs for business desktops from Intel (HP could purchase the remaining 5% from AMD). The rebates were hidden, in the sense that they were just agreed verbally and not in writing. Intel also made direct payments to computer manufacturers (HP, Dell and Lenovo) to delay the introduction of computers containing AMD processors. Question Explain why the behavior of Intel is in breach of the TFEU. Name the relevant Article. Mention and explain all relevant elements of this Article. Case 3 The European Commission found that the four major producers of flexible polyurethane foam (Vita, Carpenter, Recticel and Eurofoam) participated in a cartel and has imposed fines totalling € 114 million. Flexible polyurethane foam is mainly used in household furniture such as mattresses or sofas. Applications in the automotive sector – in particular for car seats – also account for around a quarter of the total flexible polyurethane foam market. The companies agreed to coordinate the sales prices of various types of foam for nearly five years in 10 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and the UK). a. Why is the behaviour of the four producers of flexible polyurethane in breach of the TFEU? Name the relevant Article. Mention and explain all relevant elements of this Article Two companies, Akzo and BASF, supply the four producers with raw materials. Akzo has a market share in the European Union of 60% and BASF of 40%. As a result of an accident in the factory of BASF the factory burns down. Fortunately Akzo has enough capacity in its production plants to offset the loss of the BASF plant. Since Akzo now is the only supplier Akzo decides to raise its prices by 60% and stop selling to Eurofoam. In the past Eurofoam threatened to buy its raw materials from BASF if Akzo did not lower its prices. By driving Eurofoam into bankruptcy, Akzo tries to get rid of a difficult customer. b. Explain why Akzo’s behaviour is in breach of the TFEU. Name the relevant Article. Mention and explain all relevant elements of this Article. The total fines imposed on the participants were as follows: Vita € 0, Carpenter € 75 million, Recticel € 25 million and Eurofoam € 14 million c. Why was Vita, which also participated in the agreement, not fined? d. Why did Carpenter receive a fine three times as high as Recticel for the same behaviour? The annual turnover of Recticel is € 500 million. e. What would have been the maximum fine imposed on Recticel? Case 4 Read the following article: Aid for the renovation and upgrading of the Parnassos ski resort Question Why was the aid not in breach of the TFEU? Case 5 Read the following article: European Commission inquiry into NS high- speed contract Question Explain if the Dutch government granted State aid and is in breach of Article 107 under 1 TFEU.