The French Competition Authority ("Authority") has started proceedings ex officio to issue an opinion on the competitive functioning of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure sector.
This opinion will provide the opportunity to examine the competitive dynamics and the practices implemented in this sector and, if necessary, to discuss how some of these practices could be considered from a sustainable development perspective.
The Authority will consult the players active in this market and the opinion is expected to be issued in early 2024.
The stakes involved
This approach is in line with the Authority's policy, which has made sustainable development one of its priorities. The e-mobility sector is a key element of the ecological transition currently being structured in the context of the ban on the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Authority's advisory role
These proceedings fall under the advisory role of the Authority.
In its role, the Authority can start proceedings ex officio and open sector-specific inquiries. As such, it was able to provide an analysis of online advertising (2018), new technologies applied to financial activities known as "Fintech" (2021), and the cloud sector (2022).
The Authority also makes recommendations to the public authorities when draft texts are written, or reforms are prepared. As such, it had the opportunity to issue an opinion on the French railway reform (2013) and on the audiovisual reform (2019).
The press release of the French Competition Authority is available here (in French).
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