‘No magic number’ means ‘no magic number’: will the EU Court turn the tide on four-to-three mobile mergers in Europe?

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Czapracka

This article explores the impact of the General Court's judgment in CK Telecoms and the Commission decision in T-Mobile NL/Tele2 on the assessment of four-to-three mobile mergers. The unconditional clearance in the Dutch case energized some telecoms executives, but the Commission stressed that it was largely due to the very specific circumstances of the case. Then, in CK Telecoms, the General Court delivered a blow to the framework developed by the Commission to assess mobile mergers. The Court's interpretation of the concepts of ‘important competitive force’ and ‘closeness of competition’ raises the threshold for the Commission to challenge mergers and implements the principle that there is no ‘magic number’ of mobile network operators. Though some commentators compared CK Telecoms to the Airtours case, CK Telecoms has not provoked similar soul-searching at DG Competition. Some senior Commission officials criticized the judgment and indicated that the Commission will continue applying the same framework. On appeal, the Commission has challenged all key aspects of the judgment. The Dutch case, however, confirms that the Commission may entertain unconditional clearance in some four-to-three mobile mergers and, while CK Telecoms might not bring an overhaul of the current framework, we can expect some refinements.

Author(s):  
Nataliia MIEDVIEDKOVA ◽  
Ivan US

The key aspects of political plans, conditions, key events and changes for Brexit are considered. The impact of Brexit referendum held in 2016 on how the citizens of Britain and other countries perceive the UK and the EU is researched. Survey results concerning the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union are considered. SWOT analysis on the effect of Brexit on the UK is provided. Primarily the attention is focused on the benefits for the UK such as improved border security and reduction of terrorism, no need to pay an annual fee to the EU treasury. New opportunities for the UK are also defined, namely free choice of policy not restricted by EU conditions, the opportunity to defend the interests of national producers and consumers, preservation of cultural values and traditions. Detailed consideration is given to significant weaknesses for the UK such as re-concluding agreements with each EU member, perceive the UK as a competitor rather than a partner, higher tariffs, finding talented workers, decrease in tax revenues, and the Brexit price. Settlements between the UK and the EU (that forming the Brexit price), as well as the mechanism for calculating UK contributions to the EU budget are analyzed. The main threats are also substantiated, namely uncertainty, unsolved problems with the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Scottish reluctance to leave the EU, decrease in trade with EU countries and investment attractiveness. Own interpretation of the prospects for Brexit is suggested. JEL: F15, F36, F53.


2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 777-799
Author(s):  
O.I. Shvyreva ◽  
Z.I. Kruglyak ◽  
A.V. Petukh

Subject. This article discusses the issues related to the practice of financial reporting in the face of uncertainties caused by the coronavirus contagion, as well as the specifics of the audit strategy and formation of an audit opinion on this reporting. Objectives. The article aims to identify the quality characteristics of financial reporting prepared in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and justify the key aspects of assurance engagement completion in an extremely uncertain epidemiological and economic situation. Methods. For the study, we used an abstract-logical method, content analysis techniques, systematization, and classification. Results. Analyzing the impact of the extremely uncertain epidemiological and economic situation on financial statements, the article clarifies aspects of disclosure of events after the reporting date and threats to business continuity in the annual reporting of economic entities. The article identifies possible alternative procedures and algorithms to obtain proper evidence when it is insufficient in the face of the inability to meet certain audit standards requirements in a remote audit environment. The article defines the impact of COVID-19 risk disclosure on the structure of the audit report and opinion. Relevance. The results of the study can be used in the practical activities of economic entities that prepare financial statements in the face of significant uncertainty, as well as auditors and audit organizations.


2020 ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kusztykiewicz-Fedurek

Political security is very often considered through the prism of individual states. In the scholar literature in-depth analyses of this kind of security are rarely encountered in the context of international entities that these countries integrate. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to key aspects of political security in the European Union (EU) Member States. The EU as a supranational organisation, gathering Member States first, ensures the stability of the EU as a whole, and secondly, it ensures that Member States respect common values and principles. Additionally, the EU institutions focus on ensuring the proper functioning of the Eurozone (also called officially “euro area” in EU regulations). Actions that may have a negative impact on the level of the EU’s political security include the boycott of establishing new institutions conducive to the peaceful coexistence and development of states. These threats seem to have a significant impact on the situation in the EU in the face of the proposed (and not accepted by Member States not belonging to the Eurogroup) Eurozone reforms concerning, inter alia, appointment of the Minister of Economy and Finance and the creation of a new institution - the European Monetary Fund.


Author(s):  
Valentyna Bohatyrets ◽  
Liubov Melnychuk ◽  
Yaroslav Zoriy

This paper seeks to investigate sustainable cross-border cooperation (CBC) as a distinctive model of interstate collaboration, embedded in the neighboring borderland regions of two or more countries. The focus of the research revolves around the establishment and further development of geostrategic, economic, cultural and scientific capacity of the Ukrainian-Romanian partnership as a fundamental construct in ensuring and strengthening the stability, security and cooperation in Europe. This research highlights Ukraine’s aspirations to establish, develop and diversify bilateral good-neighborly relations with Romania both regionally and internationally. The main objective is to elucidate Ukraine-Romania cross-border cooperation initiatives, inasmuch Ukraine-Romania CBC has been stirring up considerable interest in terms of its inexhaustible historical, cultural and spiritual ties. Furthermore, the similarity of the neighboring states’ strategic orientations grounds the basis for development and enhancement of Ukraine-Romania cooperation. The authors used desk research and quantitative research to conclude that Ukraine-Romania CBC has the impact not only on the EU and on Ukraine multi-vector foreign policy, but it also has the longer-term global consequences. In the light of the current reality, the idea of introducing and reinforcing the importance of Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) sounds quite topical and relevant. This research considers a number of explanations for Ukraine-Romania Cross-Border Cooperation as a key element of the EU policy towards its neighbors. Besides, the subject of the research is considered from different perspectives in order to show the diversity and complexity of the Ukraine-Romania relations in view of the fact that sharing common borders we are presumed to find common solutions. As the research has demonstrated, the Ukraine-Romania cross border cooperation is a pivotal factor of boosting geostrategic, economic, political and cultural development for each participant country, largely depending on the neighboring countries’ cohesion and convergence. Significantly, there is an even stronger emphasis on the fact that while sharing the same borders, the countries share common interests and aspirations for economic thriving, cultural exchange, diplomatic ties and security, guaranteed by a legal framework. The findings of this study have a number of important implications for further development and enhancement of Ukraine-Romania cooperation. Accordingly, the research shows how imperative are the benefits of Romania as a strategic partner for outlining top priorities of Ukraine’s foreign policy.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Carone ◽  
Declan Costello ◽  
Nuria Diez Guardia ◽  
Per Eckefeldt ◽  
Gilles Mourre

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonatan Groba ◽  
Juan Angel Lafuente ◽  
Pedro Serrano
Keyword(s):  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document