CMA seeks permission to appeal in Eurotunnel case
皇冠体育app CMA today announced that it will seek permission to appeal following last week鈥檚 Court of Appeal judgment in the Eurotunnel case.
皇冠体育app judgment upheld a challenge to the Competition and Markets Authority鈥檚 (CMA) jurisdiction over Eurotunnel鈥檚 acquisition of 3 ferries and related assets formerly owned by SeaFrance.
皇冠体育app application will be made to the Court of Appeal although if granted the appeal itself would be heard in the Supreme Court.
皇冠体育app CMA will also request that the Court of Appeal suspends the effect of its current order so that Eurotunnel will no longer be barred from running the MyFerryLink service out of Dover from July.
皇冠体育app CMA is concerned to protect the interests of passengers and freight customers given its conclusion that Eurotunnel running a ferry service on the short sea route as well as the competing rail link would damage competition. 皇冠体育app CMA鈥檚 competition assessment was not challenged in the Court of Appeal or in the previous Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) appeal.
In seeking permission to appeal, the CMA is also seeking greater legal clarity for the wider benefit of the UK merger regime.
皇冠体育app CMA also took into consideration that its decision on jurisdiction had previously been upheld by the CAT and was supported by one of the judges on the Court of Appeal panel.
Last week, by a 2 to 1 majority decision, the Court of Appeal upheld an appeal by the SCOP (Soci茅t茅 Coop茅rative de Production de SeaFrance S.A.), the workers鈥� collective operating the MyFerryLink service on behalf of its owner Eurotunnel. 皇冠体育app SCOP had argued that when, in 2012, the companies acquired the 3 ferries and related assets of the former SeaFrance operation (now liquidated) and recommenced a ferry service on the Dover鈥揅alais route under the MyFerryLink brand, this should not be treated as a merger under the UK merger control rules.
For all information relating to this case please visit the case page.