The fine of the record cartel against the German food chain Rewe continues to recruit a lot of dust. The ‘disproportionate’ judgment of the Supreme Court is also incomprehensible in the German Chamber of Commerce in Austria. She warns of dramatic consequences for the business location in Austria.
With the quantity of the fine, the OGH clearly wanted to put off preventively. According to the Chief Managing Director of the German Chamber of Commerce in Austria, Thomas Gindele, the court had proven the entire Austrian business location “A Bärendienst”.
“Austria loses legal certainty”
In the future, the “completely excessive fine” of the OGH would prevent from investing in Austria. “It is also not trust -build if a strict but appropriate judgment has already been made and then added,” says Gindele. The red-white-red economy, which is already under enormous pressure, would now lose a different location advantage and reliability, warns the German parliament representative.
About 6,000 German companies are economically active in Austria and contribute to one third of all Austrian economic output with their investments. About 600,000 Austrian employees are indirectly and directly engaged in Germany with Germany and through the foreign trade relationship of Austria with Germany.
As reported, the then subsidiary Merkur Warenhandels AG (now Billa Plus) took over sales areas for a food store in the Welas Park shopping center in Wels, where Weiß Handels GmbH had previously operated a food store. This process was initially not registered as a merger at the Federal Competition Authority (BWB).
Fine fine rose from 1.5 million to 70 million euros
Because Rewe represented the legal view that there was no notification of a notification and later made the registration in August 2022 during the procedure in August 2022. In May 2023, the Antitrusthof confirmed the existence of a merger that needs registration, but rejected the request of the BWB for money and statement due to “lack of punishment”. At that time, the BWB and the federal cartel lawyer appealed against the decision. The Supreme Court (OGH) as an antitrusthof took place in November 2023 and applied the Antitrusthof to determine a fine in a “noticeable” height.
The Antitrusthof then imposed a fine of EUR 1.5 million against REWE. On the other hand, the BWB and the federal cartel lawyer have again lodged a different profession. The OGH as an antitrust court now increased the fine of EUR by 1.5 million to 70 million.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
