Introduction The second half of 2023 was hectic regarding digital markets for the Chilean competition authorities (Fiscalía Nacional Económica or “FNE”, the competition agency, and Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia or “TDLC”, the competition court). In the context of more local investigations on more complex markets, a new target emerged as an enforcement…

It is often said that one of the greatest things about watching an important character is people wondering when he is going to make his comeback. In 2019, thirteen days after the prohibition of Siemens’ proposed acquisition of Alstom was published by the European Commission, Germany and France issued a public Manifesto ‘for a European industrial…

On November 9th 2023, the Advocate General (“AG”) Pitruzzella published his Opinion on the Apple state aid case. More specifically, in Commission v Ireland & Apple (Case C‑465/20 P), the AG proposed to the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) that it annul the General Court’s (“GC”) ruling in the Apple case, refer the cases back…

In an opinion delivered on 11 January 2024, Advocate General Szpunar concludes that the concept of ‘undertaking’ cannot be invoked to determine the parties that can be served legal documents in antitrust damages claims. He clarifies that the concept of undertaking applies to substantive competition law only – to determine the parties who may be…

What a difference five years make. In 2019, the European Union (EU) created a modest common framework for foreign direct investment (FDI) screening, Regulation 2019/452 (the FDI Regulation), stressing that decisions on proposed investments, and even the decision whether to engage in FDI screening at all, remained with EU Member States. A pandemic and two…

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is now applicable. Following the 6-month interim period where gatekeepers had the opportunity to adapt their business models to the regulation, the DMA now requires them to prove their effective compliance with its provisions. To do that, on 7 March 2024, the six designated gatekeepers in September (see here) presented…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Giorgio Monti, EU Merger Control After the Grand Chamber’s Judgment in Commission v. CK Telecoms Investments The Grand Chamber set aside the judgment of the General Court in CK Telecoms having found eight errors…

Following a slow 2022, 2023 proved to be an eventful year for competition law in Slovakia. Notably, changes took place at the helm of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office (AMO). This was overdue as the term of the previous AMO’s chairman expired in 2021, and the uncertainty seemed to be contributing to the AMO’s inactivity. The…

2023 was a watershed moment in competition law in Ireland with the start of a new civil fines regime.  A further wave of EU and Irish rules enhanced powers for the CCPC and ComReg, created two new Irish regulators and is expected to bring a radical change to enforcement across multiple sectors, such as Tech,…

The first months of application of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) have involved a large number of notifications, lengthy and wide-ranging requests for information, and the opening of the first in-depth investigation. We take a look at the key highlights from the FSR’s opening period and practical implications for companies navigating the still quite…