Brussels à Jour: Buy one, get one free. But not a Commission dawn raid.

While we were all looking forward to the first hints of spring, the European Court of Justice held a hearing in Intermarché Casino v. Commission on 24 February. The case has French supermarket Intermarché (and others) challenging the lawfulness of an inspection decision that the Commission had adopted in 2017 when it raided the companies' premises pursuing allegations around anti-competitive purchasing arrangements. Similar to other recent cases such as Prysmian and Nexans, Intermarché Casino raises the issue of just how much and what type of information ("indicia") must be in Commission's possession to justify the adoption of an inspection decision. Put more bluntly: When does the Commission cross the line of conducting an unlawful fishing expedition? The case affords the European Court of Justice another opportunity to weigh in on the evidentiary standard that the Commission's inspection decisions should be held to. Learn more.