The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), ruled in favor of on Intel Thursday, annulling a €1.06 billion fine imposed by the European Commission nearly 15 years ago. The case focused on allegations that the US chip-maker abused its dominant market position by providing exclusive rebates to manufacturers, thereby hindering competition from its rival, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
The European Commission originally fined Intel €1.06 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2009, alleging violations of EU competition law that occurred between 2002 and 2007. The Commission claimed that Intel abused its dominant position in the x86 processor market by offering rebates to PC manufacturers for purchasing its chips, particularly targeting companies like Dell and HP. It centered on the assertion that these practices constituted an infringement of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits any abuse by firms of their dominant market positions.
In 2014, the General Court upheld the Commission’s ruling, but Intel appealed the decision to the CJEU. In a prior ruling, the CJEU set aside the General Court’s judgment, leading to a re-examination of the case. Following this, the General Court partially annulled the Commission’s decision and completely revoked the fine against Intel. The Commission subsequently appealed the General Court’s 2022 ruling, claiming that it contained procedural irregularities and legal errors, particularly concerning the as-efficient-competitor test, which is a standard used to assess the competitive effects of a dominant firm’s actions.
However, the CJEU rejected all grounds of the Commission’s appeal. The Court affirmed that it is the General Court’s role to scrutinize the Commission’s assessments and that it must thoroughly evaluate any arguments challenging those conclusions. The CJEU also emphasized that the General Court cannot justify the Commission’s decision based on reasoning not explicitly presented in the original ruling.