Alstom v Commission: Crystallizing the Determination of Parental Liability for 100% Subsidiaries

摘要

The Alstom v Commission case offers an instructive synthesis of the conditions and consequences of the liability of a parent company on behalf of its 100% owned subsidiary. The General Court's judgment in Alstom v European Commission of 27 November 2014 (Case T-517/09, Alstom v Commission [2014] not yet published in ECR) resembles a good law lecture in its instructiveness and thoroughness of its examination of case precedents concerning the application of Article 101 TFEU. It appears to offer the long-awaited synthesis of a somewhat bumpy evolution that began with the Akzo judgment of 10 September 2009 and then developed through various conclusions and judgments of Advocate Generals, the General Court, the Court of Justice, and the EFTA Court (see Case C-90/09 P, General Quimica and Others v Commission [2011] ECR I-1, paras. 50-53; Case C-521/09 P Elf Aquitaine v Commission [2011] ECR I-8947, paras. 152 and 153; Case C-389/10 P KME Germany and Others v Commission, [2011] ECR I-13125, para. 128; Case C-386/10 P Chalkor v Commission [2011] ECR I-13085, para. 54; Case E-15/10 Posten Norge v EFTA Surveillance Authority [2012], para. 99; Case E-14/11 DB Schenker v EFTA Surveillance Authority [2012], para. 160; Opinion of Advocate General Wathelet in Case C-295/12 P Telefonica SA and Telefonica de Espana v Commission [2013] not yet published in ECR, paras. 113 and 125, Case C-295/12 P Telefonica and Telefonica de Espana v Commission [2014] not yet published in ECR, para. 56).