Latest News

Deutsche Telekom wins EU interest battle, bodes well for Intel

Deutsche Telekom on Tuesday won a legal fight to get EU antitrust regulators to pay interest on the portion of a great reimbursed following an appeal, in what could be excellent news for a comparable 593millioneuro ($ 638.3 million) claim by Intel.

A score of business have in current years taken legal action against competitors enforcers for default interest on fines in annulled antitrust cases, with the claims totalling about 800 million euros. Intel is the highest profile case.

The Commission imposed a 31 million euro fine on Deutsche Telekom in 2014 for charging unfair wholesale rates in Slovakia. A lower tribunal cut the charge to 19 million euros and bought the Commission to pay some 1.8 million euros in interest.

The EU competitors enforcer consequently repaid the distinction to Deutsche Telekom, but not the interest for the period between the payment and the reimbursement.

The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union ( CJEU) agreed the German telecoms operator.

The (European) Commission needs to pay interest on fines it has unduly enforced in competition matters and which it has provisionally gathered, judges said.

That interest is planned to compensate, at a requirement rate, the undertaking concerned for the loss of satisfaction of the amount in concern, they said.

The CJEU said the lower tribunal was ideal to hold that the appropriate interest rate which the Commission is required to pay to Deutsche Telekom is the European Reserve Bank (ECB). refinancing rate increased by 3.5 portion points.

Intel's claim for 593 million euros in interest is on a. reimbursed fine of 1.06 billion euros from a case reversed in. 2022. A number of airlines fined for taking part in an air freight. cartel are likewise looking for interest for their annulled fines.

The ruling is final and can not be appealed.

The case is C-221/ 22 P Commission v Deutsche Telekom.

(source: Reuters)