EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS

EU ANTITRUST: HOT TOPICS & NEXT STEPS 2022

Prague, Czechia

of the Member States’ courts. The CJEU cannot deny justice to the parties in cases within its jurisdiction and it must also consider the principles and concepts common to the laws of the Member States. These include the values on which the EU is based, and which are attractive to foreign investors. Violations of these values, such as rule of law, including obvious formal errors (error of law), can affect the legal position of companies and should be, if not rightfully prevented, then protected. Therefore, additionally: The European Court of Justice, for example, not only places little emphasis on grammatical interpretation and much emphasis on teleological interpretation, but is also very aware of the institutional, political, and economic environment in which it judges. Those who rely solely on the wording of a norm in Luxembourg are less likely to be successful. (Haltern, 2017, p. 35) 4. Legal Dynamic It can be considered a notoriety that social changes have their overlap in law. A recent example is the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions REPowerEU: Joint European Action for more affordable, secure, and sustainable energy (hereinafter referred also as “the Communication”). The Communication is a preparatory stage for further legal measures that may be taken to the detriment of the Russian Federation – in the case of gas supplies. The European Commission here draws attention to potential distortions of competition – referring to Gazprom. (European Commission, 2022, Article 1.2) In my opinion, the use of the word “potential” by the European Commission is merely a reflection of the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence. As the – potentially – breach of competition is indirectly linked to the now openly and publicly communicated opinion of the European Commission on Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and on ensuring energy security, including through gas storage – as part of critical infrastructure – given the current geopolitical situation, progressive shift towards renewable energy and energy efficiency. (ibid, Article 1.1) For the above reasons, it can be – as an intermediate result – concluded that the future of European energy policy will be focused mainly on decarbonisation in the long term and that energy security will be tenaciously strengthened in the short term. In the case of building energy infrastructure (electrical grid, pipelines), it is about setting up a long-term functional system. However, competition law also considers construction of a pipeline (regardless of whether gas or hydrogen

598