{ "story_id": "c04f99d11afdf59569df9955909c1c5c", "desk": "drm3", "revision": 1, "published_at": "2026-09-04T08:26:00.000Z", "content_hash": "19254f8d87b622be0f3488ae8d7b970e1a6095380a74ea768c137cef423ffe80", "hash_basis": "sha256 over `headline\\ndek\\nprose`, plus `\\n` + the canonical citations JSON when any source is placed, plus `\\n#blog` for blogs", "basis": { "headline": "EU antitrust guidelines now allow sustainability as defense for dominant companies", "dek": "EU regulators revised antitrust guidelines to permit dominant firms to justify conduct via sustainability benefits.", "prose": "The European Commission said on 2026-09-03 that companies at risk of penalties for anti-competitive conduct may be able to justify their dominance if their business practices are sustainable, such as reducing raw material use, producing less pollution, increasing recyclable products, or making supply chains more resilient. [^1]\n\nSara Aagesen, Spain's Energy Transition Minister, sent a letter to Wopke Hoekstra, the European Climate Commissioner, on September 2, 2026, requesting a permanent tax on the profits of oil and gas companies. [^2]\n\nThe European Commission's revised antitrust guidelines define a company as dominant if it holds more than a 40% share of the market. [^3]\n\nThe letter said the guidelines 'introduce presumptions and analytical shortcuts that do not distinguish appropriately between anti-competitive conduct and pro-competitive conduct that reflects business acumen, superior skill, or efficiency by dominant firms.' [^4]\n\nThe revised guidelines relate to Article 102 of the EU antitrust rules, which has resulted in hefty fines for Apple, Google, and Microsoft in recent years after EU authorities found they had used their market power to thwart rivals. [^5]\n\nThe funds raised are specifically earmarked to finance reconstruction costs following environmental disasters such as the wildfires that ravaged Spain this summer. [^6]\n\nThe proposal includes a levy on premium flights to be part of a new European framework for climate resilience. [^7]\n\nThe proposed tax revenue is intended to become a new own resource for the European Union rather than being distributed to individual member states. 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