Case T-692/20: Judgment of the General Court of 13 November 2024 – Iliad Italia v Commission (Competition – Concentrations – Italian market for mobile telecommunication services – Decision declaring the concentration compatible with the internal market – Grouping of passive infrastructure into a joint venture – Commitments entered into during the first phase of examination – Granting of access to the joint venture’s sites – Manifest error of assessment – General terms of the commitments – Protection against a risk of bias when selecting sites – Implementation of commitments)
Date: 2024-11-13
Institutions: General Court
Subjects: Italy, economic concentration, merger control, mobile communication, transmission network








C_202500157EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2025/157


13.1.2025






Judgment of the General Court of 13 November 2024 – Iliad Italia v Commission


(Case T-692/20)
                (1)

(Competition - Concentrations - Italian market for mobile telecommunication services - Decision declaring the concentration compatible with the internal market - Grouping of passive infrastructure into a joint venture - Commitments entered into during the first phase of examination - Granting of access to the joint venture’s sites - Manifest error of assessment - General terms of the commitments - Protection against a risk of bias when selecting sites - Implementation of commitments)
(C/2025/157)
Language of the case: English

Parties


Applicant: Iliad Italia SpA (Milan, Italy) (represented by: D. Fosselard, D. Waelbroeck, G. Carnazza and M. Finocchio, lawyers)

Defendant: European Commission (represented by: G. Conte and J. Szczodrowski, acting as Agents)

Intervener in support of the applicant: Fastweb SpA (Milan) (represented by: M. Merola and E. Pistis, lawyers)

Interveners in support of the defendant: Telecom Italia SpA (Milan) (represented by: S. Spagnuolo, F. Salerno and P. Fattori, lawyers), Vodafone Group plc (Newbury, United Kingdom) (represented by: G. van Gerven, A. Mangiaracina and M. Faglia, lawyers)

Re:

By its action under Article 263 TFEU, the applicant seeks the annulment of Commission Decision C(2020) 1573 final of 6 March by which the Commission, pursuant to Article 6(1)(b), read in conjunction with Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (OJ 2004 L 24, p. 1), and Article 57 of the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, declared compatible with the internal market and the EEA Agreement the concentration consisting of the grouping, into a jointly controlled undertaking, of the passive mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Italy of Telecom Italia (‘TIM’) and Vodafone Italia SpA (‘Vodafone’) (Case M.9674 – Vodafone Italia/TIM/INWIT JV).

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:






1.


Dismisses the action;










2.


Orders Iliad Italia SpA to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone Group plc.;










3.


Orders Fastweb SpA to bear its own costs.






(1)  
            OJ C 19, 18.1.2021.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/157/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)