ANTITRUST | The AGCM issues recommendations to the Government on the Italian Annual Market and Competition Law

On 20 December 2024, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) forwarded its recommendations (Recommendations) to the Government for the drafting of the Italian Annual Market and Competition Law for 2024.  With the Recommendations, the AGCM called for the implementation of some legal innovations, including the Italian Merger Control framework. In particular, the AGCM advocated for introducing the “standstill obligation” (Obligation), prohibiting the implementation of a concentration before it has been communicated and cleared by the AGCM, into Article 17 of Law No. 287/1990 (Law). The AGCM also addressed the need to apply the Obligation to the below-threshold transactions for which the AGCM might request notification under Article 16 (1-bis) of the Law, and to introduce a penalty of up to 10% of the turnover of the parties involved in the concentration in the event of non-compliance with the Obligation. According to the AGCM, such innovations would harmonise the Italian Merger Control framework with the European Merger Control Regulation (EUMR) and increase legal certainty for undertakings operating in different Member States.

Newsletter n. 103 – January 2025