Major victory for Czech Railways, represented by Skils, in proceedings before the European Commission

On September 30, 2022, the European Commission announced that it was suspending proceedings regarding the alleged predatory fares on the Prague-Ostrava route.

Skils provided comprehensive legal advice to České dráhy as part of the European Commission’s investigation into whether České dráhy’s fares in the years 2011–2019 were so-called predatory, i.e., excessively low, in order to exclude competing carriers on the backbone railway route Prague – Ostrava.

The Commission has been investigating this important competition case concerning potential abuse of dominance since 2016, after taking over the case from the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition. In 2020, the European Commission even expressed its preliminary view (in the so-called Statement of Objections) that misconduct may have occurred. Following, among others, České dráhy’s comprehensive response prepared in cooperation with Skils and an oral hearing in which Skils represented České dráhy, the Commission’s doubts have been dispelled and the Commission now decided to suspend the proceedings.

This success of České dráhy can also be considered extraordinary from the point of view that a change of opinion of the Commission at such an advanced stage of the proceedings occurs only exceptionally.

The European Commission informed about its decision on September 30, 2022 in a summary of daily news, Czech Railways also issued a press release on it and the media, such as Lidovky.cz informed about it too.