Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Access to affordable and good quality mobile telecom services is essential in a modern society.  After thoroughly analysing the specific role of T-Mobile NL and the smaller Tele2 NL in the Dutch retail mobile market, our investigation found that the proposed acquisition would not significantly change the prices or quality of mobile services for Dutch consumers”.

Today’s decision follows an in-depth investigation of T-Mobile NL’s proposed acquisition of Tele2 NL. The proposed transaction would combine Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary T-Mobile NL with Tele2’s subsidiary Tele2 NL, respectively the third and fourth largest operators in the Dutch retail mobile telecommunications market. The merged entity would remain the third largest player on the Dutch market after KPN and VodafoneZiggo.

The Dutch mobile market

The Commission’s investigation indicates that the Dutch mobile market is competitive with some of the lowest mobile prices in the EU and high network quality. There are currently four mobile network operators in the Netherlands – KPN, VodafoneZiggo, T-Mobile NL and Tele2 NL.

In addition to the four mobile network operators, there are a number of “mobile virtual network operators” active in the Dutch retail mobile market, such as Simpel and Youfone. These mobile virtual network operators do not own the networks they use to provide mobile services to Dutch consumers. Instead, they have entered into agreements with mobile network operators to access their network infrastructure at wholesale rates.

The Commission’s investigation

T-Mobile NL and Tele2 NL both mainly offer retail mobile telecommunications services in the Netherlands. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether:

• The reduction in the number of players and the merged entity’s limited incentives to compete effectively with the remaining operators would lead to higher prices and less investment in mobile telecommunications networks.
• The transaction would weaken competitive pressure and increase the likelihood that operators would coordinate their competitive behaviour for example, to raise prices or hold back innovation.
• Prospective and existing mobile virtual network operators may face more difficulties in obtaining favourable wholesale access terms from mobile network operators.

The Commission undertook a wide range of investigative measures and received feedback from market participants in the Dutch telecommunications sector, as well as other stakeholders.

First, the investigation found that the proposed merger was unlikely to lead to significant price increases because of the limited combined market position (around 25% market share) and the relatively small increment brought by Tele2 NL (around 5%). Furthermore, there are uncertainties concerning Tele2 NL’s role as an important competitive force in the Dutch market.

Second, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not increase the likelihood of coordinated behaviour between mobile network operators, in particular because the other two mobile network operators, KPN and VodafoneZiggo, have different strategies and incentives largely based on cross-selling mobile services to their fixed customer base (i.e., selling “packages” of telecom services).

Third, the investigation showed that any potential change in conditions for virtual mobile network operatorsdue to the proposed merger would not have a serious impact on the level of competition in the Dutch mobile telecoms market.

Taking into account these findings, the Commission’s investigation concluded that the proposed transaction was unlikely to significantly impact the level of service or prices paid by Dutch mobile telecoms customers. Therefore, the Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise competition concerns in the European Economic Area or any substantial part of it and cleared the case unconditionally.

The Commission cooperated closely with the Dutch national competition authority in the assessment of the proposed transaction.

Companies and products

T-Mobile NL provides telecommunication services to private and business customers in the Netherlands. It owns a mobile network with nationwide coverage over which it provides 2G, 3G, 4G and NarrowBand-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) mobile communication services. It also provides retail fixed services, including broadband Internet, TV and fixed telephony services based on wholesale access services.

Tele 2 NL is a telecommunications provider that operates as a 4G-only mobile network operator, providing voice, data and messaging services, and also fixed broadband services in the Netherlands. Tele2 NL provides services to business and residential customers and to a limited extent to other telecommunications providers. 

Merger control rules and procedures

The transaction was notified to the Commission on 2 May 2018.

The Commission has the duty to assess mergers and acquisitions involving companies with a turnover above certain thresholds (see Article 1 of the Merger Regulation) and to prevent concentrations that would significantly impede effective competition in the EEA or any substantial part of it.

The vast majority of notified mergers do not pose competition problems and are cleared after a routine review. From the moment a transaction is notified, the Commission generally has 25 working days to decide whether to grant approval (Phase I) or to start an in-depth investigation (Phase II).

There are currently six on-going phase II merger investigations: the proposed creation of a joint venture by Tata Steel and ThyssenKrupp, the proposed acquisition of Aurubis Rolled Products and Schwermetall by Wieland, the proposed acquisition of MKM by KME, the proposed acquisition of Gemalto by Thales, the proposed acquisition of Alstom by Siemens and the proposed acquisition of Solvay’s nylon business by BASF.

More information will be available on the competition website, in the Commission’s public case register under the case number M.8792.

27/11/2018 – Business, taxation and competition / Employment and social rights / Enlargement, external relations and trade

​Today, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) published a Decision on the cross-border collaboration of national competent authorities (NCAs) with respect to the Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs), the IORP II Directive.

This Decision replaces the former Budapest Protocol which had to be revised as a result of the new IORP II Directive, the latter due to be transposed into national law by the European Union Member States  by 13 January 2019.

The overall objective of the Decision is to strengthen the cross-border collaboration between National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on cross-border activities described by the IORP II Directive, such Institutions of Occupational Retirement Provisions (IORPs) should be able to transfer pension schemes to other IORPs across the border within the European Union. It promotes greater transparency towards IORPs to be duly informed by the NCAs about their expectations, such as the justification and decision linked with the provision information to the NCAs.  For further clarity of the procedures to be followed for the cross-border activities the appendices to the Decision include useful information material, such as templates, flow charts and examples of cross-border activities.

Furthermore, the Decision describes different situations and possibilities for NCAs to exchange information about cross-border activities in relation to the “fit and proper” assessment and the outsourcing of key functions, both new provisions of the IORP II Directive.

The Decision can be obtained via this link to EIOPA’s Website.

Note to the Editors

The Budapest Protocol provided a framework for the cooperation of competent authorities in the implementation of Directive 2003/41/EC on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) in relation to the supervision of IORPs that operate cross-border activities.

The IORP II Directive introduces new rules to improve the way occupational pension funds are governed, to enhance information transparency to pension savers and to clarify the procedures for carrying out cross-border transfers and activities.

The first annual European Insurance Overview report is now available on EIOPA’s website.

The European Insurance Overview report is published by EIOPA as an extension of its statistical services in order to provide an easy-to-use and accessible overview of the European insurance sector. The report is based on annually reported Solvency II information. This ensures that the data has a high coverage in all countries and is reported in a consistent manner across the European Economic Area.

The report is objective, factual and data driven and does not contain analysis or policy messages. It provides highly-relevant and easily-accessible data at the European level.

The report is published with all charts data available for download in a separate excel file.

The new report can be found here.

The 30^th meeting Management Board of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) met in Vienna at the premises of the Austrian Ministry of the Interior to discuss the ongoing implementation of the Agency’s Governance Action Plan and adopt its 2019 work programme. The meeting was the last to be chaired by Mag. Wolfgang Taucher, Director of the Austrian Federal Office for Aliens and Asylum (BMI), as his term is soon to expire after a total of eight years of service to EASO.

Mag. Taucher took up the post of Chair of the Management Board in February 2013 after serving as the Deputy Chair since the first meeting in 2010. He has been an institutional compass for the Agency and has skilfully guided the Management Board and EASO through various challenges. Most notable of these was the so-called 2015-2017 ‘migration crisis’ where EASO was called on to quickly and dramatically step up its operational assistance towards Italy and Greece despite resource limitations. 

Mr. Jamil Addou, Executive Director a.i. of EASO, thanked Mag. Taucher, who will remain the Austrian representative on the Management Board, for his tireless leadership, highlighting that his hands-on approach and dedication had instilled a culture of genuine ownership of the Agency’s work in the Management Board.  Mr. David Costello, who is the Deputy Chair of the Management Board, will take over as Chair until a replacement is elected.

EASO continues to improve its governance structures and support activities

The Management Board also dedicated significant time to reviewing the ongoing implementation of the ambitious Governance Action Plan designed by the Agency’s new management, which is aimed at ensuring that governance, and administrative procedures at EASO are carried out to the highest standards, while also ensuring trust in the Agency. 

Furthermore, the delegations discussed ongoing work on the 2019 Operational Plans for EASO’s operations in Cyprus, Greece and Italy, all of which are due to be signed with the respective authorities in the coming weeks. Notably, EASO is in the process of stepping-up its assistance to Cyprus, including in terms of reception, assistance in the management of backlog and registration, as well as the provision of training and study visits.

Finally, the Management Board approved the Agency’s Single Programming Document 2019-2021, including the 2019 Work Programme and Budget. The plans also account for the possible transformation of EASO into the European Union Agency for Asylum, with a significantly expanded mandate, should co-legislators conclude negotiations.

Any further information may be obtained from the European Asylum Support Office on the following email address: press@easo.europa.eu