Challenge

Stanleybet launched the Fair Play For Sports Betting campaign, calling for fair access to all European markets for all EU-based sports betting operators. However, it was hampered by monopolistic Romanian gambling laws, which prevented it from bringing the full benefits of its cross border business model to the country. The challenge was to get the post-Communist Romanian sports law infrastructure in line with EU law.

Strategy

The strategy was based on the landmark Gambelli judgement. In that court case, our Chairman had been Attorney General. His Opinion had established an important framework for determining the validity on limitations to cross border gambling. Concurrently, our strategy contextualized our inter-institutional communication according the Romanian sports law infrastructure. It utilized the fact that Stanleybet had based its cross border business model on the Gambelli and Placanica rulings.

Results

We were able to demonstrate to the European Commission that Stanleybet was a model of the type of economic activity, which it had a duty to protect. Thanks to our efforts, the EU Commission forced the Romanian state to comply with these very recent extensions to EU competence. Stanleybet now has a lucrative and successful operation in Romania, which benefits consumers.

Challenge

The European Commission initiated anti-dumping proceedings concerning imports of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) originating from China. The investigation on the dumped PVA was worth more than $33 million. Solutia, a U.S. Fortune 500 firm and a Monsanto spin off, was one of the parties concerned by this investigation. Solutia relied heavily on PVA to produce polyvinyl butyral (PVB), a material used in glass, construction and auto industries. With only 5-months’ notice, Solutia sought Alber & Geiger’s help to avoid import duties on PVA.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger produced a narrative that included an understanding of the Chinese economy and the PVA market in China. Our message was strongly embedded in the European Commission’s approach to trade and competition law, while taking into account the global political consensus on Chinese PVA dumping. More concretely, we put forward arguments that the dumping was a natural consequence of China’s macro-economic situation and production pressures.

Our team demonstrated that other market factors had contributed to the EU economic injury. We argued that the European Commission had not shown a causal link between the detriments suffered by the EU market and dumped imports from China. Moreover, our message cast doubt on the way the European Commission had defined the market of PVA in light of the broader range PVA uses.

Results

Alber & Geiger’s lobbying activity led to the European Commission revising its preliminary duties decision on PVA imports. As we had argued, the European Commission concluded that there was no evidence that would link dumping and injury. The tariffs were lifted. Solutia’s profitability and position on the global market remained intact.

Challenge

Under the tobacco advertising directive, the EU Commission’s goal was to hunt down ‘insidious forms’ of tobacco advertising. For this reason, the directive had addressed both direct and indirect advertising to close loopholes. Davidoff and Lancaster had been accused of indirect tobacco advertising through the marketing of perfume products. The challenge was to convince the EU Commission in particular and the EU institutions in general that promoting the Davidoff brand image was not tobacco advertising.

Strategy

The strategy focused on the differentiation between direct and indirect tobacco advertising which the directive had established. The latter being mainly based on a brand diversification strategy of companies. In most cases these brand diversifications were meanwhile brand products of their own, not connected to tobacco products in any way.

But the directive’s wording not only addressed the marketing and advertising of such a diversification product like perfumes or clothes. It actually also addressed the diversification product itself, considering the sheer existence of the perfume as indirect tobacco advertising.

Results

We prevented the EU Commission from getting entangled into a wasteful litigation that would have compromised legitimate economic activity. Insofar as issues for Davidoff remained unresolved by lobbying we successfully executed a CJEU case.