The European Court of Justice delivers two judgments on abuse of dominance: refusal to supply and margin squeeze

19/12/25

On 18 December 2025 the Court of Justice handed down two judgments on abuse of dominance in response to references from the Administrative Court of Bulgaria in appeal proceedings brought by Lukoil Bulgaria against infringement decisions under Bulgarian competition law by the Bulgarian competition authority. As with UK law, Bulgarian antitrust law is modelled on the corresponding provisions of EU law.

Case C-245/24 concerned abuse of dominance through refusal to supply. The essential issue was whether Lukoil Bulgaria could rely upon the conditions laid down in the leading CJEU case C-7/97 Bronner or whether, as a previously state owned enterprise, it was precluded from doing so. The Court held that in principle it could do so, as it had been privatised in 1999. This is an application, as Advocate General Medina explained in her opinion, of the principle first established by the Court in a case under the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty, C-390/98 HJ Banks & Co v Coal Authority & Secretary of State for Trade and Industry [2001] ECR I-6117.

Case C-260/24 concerned abuse of dominance through margin squeeze in the supply of fuel. The essential issue was whether the competition authority had correctly approached upstream market definition in establishing dominance. The Court held that it was for the court to examine whether petrol, diesel and LPG formed separate markets or, as Lukoil Bulgaria contended, were part of an overall single market on which it was not dominant.

The judgments are here:

C-245/24

C-260/24