EC appeals De Beers-Alrosa decision - National Jeweler Network

Brussels—The European Commission (EC) has reportedly appealed the July ruling by the European Union's (EU) Court of First Instance, which annulled an EU antitrust decision that barred De Beers from purchasing rough diamonds from Russian rival Alrosa.

Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the commission, reportedly told Bloomberg that the regulator had appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Communities, which is the EU's highest court.

In 2006, De Beers had agreed to stop buying rough diamonds from Alrosa at the end of 2008. EU regulators had claimed De Beers was unrivaled in the diamond market for much of the past century and that its ceasing to buy rough from Alrosa would open up new opportunities for competition in the diamond market.

The agreement had closed the antitrust probe investigating the deal between the two diamond companies.

However, Alrosa said the De Beers deal with the EU was unfair and challenged it in the EU court, resulting in the annulment of that ruling earlier this summer.

In that judgment, the court said the EC was wrong to accept the commitments proposed by De Beers last year "at face value, without looking for alternative solutions which might have better respected the contractual freedom of the parties."

According to Diamond Intelligence Briefs, an EC official confirmed the imminent appeal saying the EC "had doubts about the interpretation of the EU law." The appeal will reportedly be heard toward the end of this month.