Commentary on the Status of AT.40484 during its Quiet Stage titled Opening of Proceedings during which investigation occurs to establish evidence in support of a possible lawsuit.
The EU Commissioners have had a special negotiation session over business before them.
A visit late last week by our newly elected POTUS with EU Commissioners was reported on Reuters with this prelude:
reuters.com
WORLD NEWS | Thu May 25, 2017 | 9:33am EDT Trump meets EU chiefs in Brussels
and this postlude:
reuters.com
BUSINESS NEWS | Thu May 25, 2017 | 12:06pm EDT With major deal frozen, EU, U.S. look to cooperate on trade... "We insisted on the importance of having free and fair competition," Juncker told reporters. He said delegations from Trump's administration and the European Commission would meet in "the coming weeks and months" to find ways to increase trade cooperation. "We felt that there is too much divergence in policy and practice between these two large economies," he said....
And there was another event of note for this posted subject: Mr. Trump criticized NATO nations for failing to do enough and spend enough for their own homeland defenses.
Because our POTUS is a skilled negotiator, and uses bully pulpit tactics publicly, I am noting his language together with other political activity to suggest that both the results and the timing of results coincide with AT.40484. And I'll add for posterity that I much prefer strong language over military confrontations; so Godspeed Mr. President.
However, I just gotta note to begin, Commissioners? Not Presidents and Premiers?
That's an attention-getting event. While it was overtly presented as a review of TPP, news stated TPP was NOT discussed. So, what was discussed?
Back to AT.40484, this is a case alleging two broad harms:
One: the Defendant harmed Sequans via bully dominance aka monopolistic actions, described in detailed acts.
Two: the Defendant interfered in delivery of the Form C complaint on several occasions dating to late 2014 using either Man-in-the-Middle interception or by directly hacking into EU web and e-mail servers; either of which resulted in non-delivery of an electronic communication to EU Government Officers.
In the second allegation, those IT tactics are broadly enabled in Government offices and used by their legal agents. Availability to public IT departments and rogue actors has become known in recent years. However, use by those public actors is still illegal unless they have been conscripted by Government.
So there is the Great Debate. As of now it is a possible Casus Belli between Nations, and even Commissions, and could have drawn in top Leadership if and when caught in the act.
I mean the dirty dogs got caught dirty handed and now its time for punitive measures so POTUS got involved. And he may have needed to take the blame for the hacking if the Defendant was conscripted and acting rogue.
Has EUTC determined the Defendant interfered with communication to EU Government Officers, and did the Defendant hack the EU servers?
Has EUTC determined the Defendant interfered with Sequans business to a degree of certainty that a formal charging is imminent and a lawsuit initiated?
Timing since origination suggests AT.40484 is about to proceed to the next step: Charging or Closure. I suggest End of Month either May or June there will be a status change. A serious case could engage a President to pay a visit to make demands or negotiate some out of court settlement.
If I am reading events correctly, then Mr. Juncker, Mdms Margrethe Vestager and Cecilia Malmström all have to face both demands and accusations from our President regarding EU defense and USA participation in their defense. And, most particularly, they might have privately faced a demand to set aside a charge sheet. This would present a conundrum whose solution could be vexing if there weren't already a calculus very clearly enunciated and embraced by Republican leaders: Ronald Reagan's oft-remembered axiom "If not us, then Whom? If not now, then when?"
If the Commissioners are facing simultaneous objections of a failure to defend themselves, and a request to not defend themselves from a hacking and bullying, then these colliding objections can be resolved by Reagan's axiom, and the Republican world has a strategic win on their record. And so does the Commission and the entire EU. A capitulation to this new German-descended leader would result in both Republican criticism and a comparison in Europe to both the Great Capitulation and a new Vichy-like regime. There is really only one way forward for the Commission. Strong defense and enforcement.
So, it is heartening to read of both the visit to the Commission and the demands for greater defense. These are supportive of a reparation result for AT.40484 that makes Sequans whole. And that is all that is requested.
All that is needed now is for the Commission to be reminded of Ronald Reagan's oft-remembered axiom "If not us, then Whom? If not now, then when?"
And the When is end of this month or next, if I read events correctly.
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The website for Search is titled
Case search – Competition - European Commission
here
ec.europa.eu
You can find procedural details here on the page titled: Antitrust/Cartels Practical information
ec.europa.eu
In particular note the pdf doc titled: Antitrust Manual of Procedures - DG Competition's manual of procedure for the application of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU
Its current status is Opening of proceedings. No public notice is required.
When the case moves you will find its status via the Advanced Search tool. It has not been dismissed nor closed since Opening January 31. |
