Brazil is on the verge of a significant regulatory shift, actively exploring the introduction of ex ante competition regulation designed to address potential harms from digital platforms before they become entrenched. Two initiatives have placed this debate at the forefront of the national policy agenda: Bill No. 2,768/2022 (the Bill) introduced to the Chamber of…
Fragmented Merger Control Landscape in Europe People like certainty. That is especially true for M&A dealmaking. Clear thresholds and parameters around regulatory approvals give dealmakers certainty as to what steps need to be taken to get deals over the line. Yet, many EU jurisdictions now permit merger review by way of new call-in powers for…
The new European Commission (the “Commission”) has an ambitious mandate, with economic growth and competitiveness at its heart. On 29 January 2025, the Commission published a Communication entitled “A Competitiveness Compass for the EU” (“Compass”) to guide its work for the next five years. The Compass outlines a strategic framework aimed at enhancing the competitiveness…
The ECN+ Directive had to be transposed into the national laws by 4 February 2021. Only five Member States (Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Sweden, and the Netherlands) adopted their national implementing measures in time. On the date of this blog-post, Estonia remains as the only Member State that has not yet transposed the ECN+ Directive (see…
In June 2024, amendments to the Canadian Competition Act (Act) garnered significant attention (and often, criticism) from both business and legal communities in Canada for the introduction of new “greenwashing” provisions. The new provisions explicitly require businesses to substantiate claims made to Canadian consumers relating to the benefits of the business, business activities, products and/or…
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published a suite of guidance documents that set out how it intends to exercise its powers under the Digital Markets, Competition, and Consumers Act (Act). The Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, grants the CMA significant new powers and procedural flexibility. The CMA guidance…
Over the past months, various discussions and debates have taken place concerning the future path of EU competition policy. Central to these discussions was the Draghi Report calling to revamp the EU’s competitiveness and launch a new industrial policy. Some of these discussions were described as reviving “old Europe” mindset and proposing policy directions that…
With the new European Commission (Commission) confirmed, European Union (EU) competition policy will be directed through 2029 by Teresa Ribera Rodríguez as the Executive Vice President (EVP) for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition from December 2024. EVP Ribera would have her hands full simply continuing the work started by outgoing EVP Vestager, including the…
The Draghi Report proposes substantial reform in the area of competition law, notably offering a critical assessment of recent policies implemented by the European Commission in merger control and antitrust enforcement. The Report will serve as a potential blueprint for Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, the Competition Commissioner-Designate and the European Commission to shape and execute competition…
Introduction Following the CJEU Illumina/Grail ruling the case here is made for the Commission to negotiate with the national competition authorities (NCAs) to adopt a common approach to dealing with so-called ‘killer acquisitions’ both substantively and procedurally. The concept here would be for the Commission and the NCAs to negotiate a common network notice which…
