LEGAL NEWS IN THE SPOTLIGHT | New Italian Annual Market and Competition Law enters into force

On 31 December 2023, Law No. 214/2023 – the Italian Annual Market and Competition Law – entered into force (the “Law”). The Law introduced innovations in certain sensitive fields of the economy such as, inter alia, provisions concerning the approval process for the gas transmission network and the national electricity transmission network development plans, as well as consumer information campaigns on the potential of second-generation smart meters. The Law modified the Italian Consumer Code concerning tacitly renewed service contracts (requiring traders to send a reminder 30 days before the automatic renewal of contracts). It also contains regulations on transportation, waste, communications and retail trade. Moreover, the Law intervened on the ICA’s powers, extending the deadline for phase II regarding merger control from 45 to 90 days and also entrusting the ICA as the authority to apply and enforce European Regulation 2022/1925 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector, commonly referred to as the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”), through its cooperation with the European Commission and its power to investigate and sanction possible violations of the DMA.

Newsletter n. 92 – January 2024