News on parity clauses: platform power and the Energiewende

Price comparison platforms have become essential infrastructure for energy consumers – and now, one of the largest is being forced to change its business practices. The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) announced earlier this week that it has accepted binding commitments from Check24 to abandon price parity clauses in its contracts with energy suppliers. The … Continue reading News on parity clauses: platform power and the Energiewende →

An overview of parity obligations

For years, parity obligations, also called “most favoured nation clauses” or “MFNs”, were hotly debated. There was a policy element to how different regulators treated MFNs, and not least because the European Commission decided to leave enforcement to national regulators, rules across the EU differed (in particular regarding online platforms). The new Vertical Block Exemption … Continue reading An overview of parity obligations →