The Kluwer Competition Law Blog will remain open but will slow down a bit in the coming weeks. We hope you are having a wonderful summer! If you don’t want to miss out on reading about competition law developments in the meantime, we recommend catching up on our series on the main 2022 developments in…

In 2022, the activities of the Polish Competition Authority (Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, hereinafter: UOKIK), and thus the developments in competition law in Poland, were affected by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine and the following energy crisis. Moving ahead with the times, the UOKIK undertook various…

The year 2022 in Italy witnessed a major update of national competition law and new powers for the Italian Competition Authority (“ICA”). These developments are summarized below, together with a report of the ICA’s practice in antitrust and merger control, and an account of the activity of Italian courts, both at the national level and…

Colombia’s competition law and policy are usually subject to incremental changes, but 2022 was a watershed in terms of institutional change, legal reforms and cases that captured the media’s attention. This blog post overviews three main developments in Colombia’s competition law and policy – covering institutional, legal amendments and enforcement issues – and is not…

The following is a selection of some important developments in German competition law and policy in 2022.  It covers cases under the new rules for digital companies, abuse of dominance, merger control, antitrust (cartels, horizontal cooperation and vertical cases) and damages litigation.   Special rules for the digital companies – Section 19a ARC The Federal…

Competition law and policy developments in the UK have continued apace throughout 2022, ushering in several important changes to competition rules; further law reform proposals; a substantial caseload for UK’s competition and sector authorities, as well as under the national security and investment screening regime, building on last year’s developments; and a new UK subsidy…

2022 saw several important competition law developments in Greece, both in the legislative sphere and at the level of the national regulator. The Greek Competition Commission (“HCC”)  remained very busy, continuing its work from the previous years and launching various interesting new initiatives.   Modernisation of Greek competition law: Amended Greek Competition Act In January…

Competition Policy in Wartime Over a year, Ukraine courageously resists a full-scale attack by Russian troops and fights for its freedom, independence, and territorial integrity. This reality affects all the processes in the country. Competition policy is no exception (see previous posts on the Kluwer Competition Law Blog on this topic here). This overview describes…

Cartels Legal Framework and Procedure Guidance on the Reduction of Fines In January 2022, the Austrian Federal Competition Authority published guidance on the reduction of fines under the Austrian leniency programme, which applies to undertakings that do not qualify for full immunity. The substantive conditions for immunity and leniency in Austria and the applicable fine…

2022 portrayed a critical year for Belgian competition law. The new leadership of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) was instantly put to the test in an active year. In the antitrust area, it pulled out all its enforcement tools, ranging from dawn raids, interim measures, and settlements to infringement decisions. The…