2024 marked the 10th year since the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA or Agency) started operating as an independent competition enforcer. Created to satisfy an obligation under the 2014 EU-Georgia Association Agreement on maintaining “an authority responsible and appropriately equipped for the effective enforcement of the competition laws” this enforcer has undergone significant transformation…
In recent years, one could have argued that merger control dominated Estonia’s competition enforcement landscape, with high-profile cases setting precedents. However, 2024 painted a different picture. Merger control did not generate the same level of excitement or controversy as in previous years. Instead, the year will likely be remembered for heated debates surrounding legislative proposals,…
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice’s (CJEU) recent decision in Android Auto marks a pivotal—and possibly final—chapter in the contentious evolution of the essential facility doctrine (EFD) [for a comprehensive analysis of the decision and its implications, see my working paper on “The EU essential facilities doctrine after Android Auto: a wild…
Introduction and Summary As we move forward from 2024, it is time to reflect on last year’s main developments within Swedish competition law. The Swedish Competition Authority (the “SCA”) has been busy with merger reviews, including a significant case before the Patent and Market Courts. Also, the SCA’s record fine for alleged resale price maintenance…
Below we cover the main competition law developments in Spain in 2024, concerning (i) institutions and legislation, (ii) antitrust, (iii) mergers and (iv) State aid. Institutions and Legislation Teresa Ribera Joins the European Commission as Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Competition On 27 November 2024, the European Parliament confirmed Teresa Ribera as the Executive…
With the much-debated reforms to Act 19/2003 of 4 July, on capital movements (“Act 19/2003”), the Spanish foreign direct investment (“FDI”) regime has been expanded over the past few years. However, FDI screening in relation to defense investments predates Act 19/2003 (and the recent FDI hype more broadly), and was regulated in Royal Decree 664/1999…
Intro The year 2024 witnessed significant legislative developments and active enforcement of the Antimonopoly Act (“AMA”) by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (“JFTC”). The year also saw increased scrutiny of digital markets amid legislative efforts targeting major platform operators, reflecting broader global trends to regulate gatekeeping behavior and ensure fair competition. This blog entry is…
In 2024, Swiss competition law saw significant developments. The first instance of abuse of relative market power was determined based on the novel offense introduced in 2022. The Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (“ComCo”) also determined that antitrust principles apply to labor markets, marking a pioneering stance among authorities in its detailed examination of…
Introduction On February 13, 2025, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, “FCO”) sent its statement of objections to Apple regarding the App Tracking Transparency Framework (“ATTF”), setting out competition concerns based on a preliminary legal assessment (see press release here). The FCO initiated proceedings under Section 19a ARC and Art. 102 TFEU on June 14, 2022…
Europe is not alien to Criminal liability for bid rigging. There are even have national criminal codes that consider cartels and bid rigging practices as a criminal offence (see Criminalisation of Cartels and Bid Rigging Conspiracies: A Focus on Custodial Sentences | OECD). Notwithstanding this, cases are rare, and judgments addressing this topic are scarce….
