As Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke noted, just as duck hunters must anticipate the future position of their prey, antitrust policymakers are urged to foresee potential anti-competitive behaviours rather than solely focusing on past constraints. This concept of anticipating potential anti-competitive behaviours has now firmly landed on the desks of policymakers, and the last…

With the recent Autotalks referral request the European Commission’s new approach to the application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) becomes ever more a regular feature of EU merger law. Nevertheless the Commission’s assertion of extended jurisdiction under Article 22 remains unlawful, unconstitutional, and ultimately unsustainable. Even though its new policy was…

The EC sets the highest possible fine of 10% of revenue on Illumina, and for the first time fines target (Grail), for gun-jumping, setting a precedent. On 12 July 2023, the European Commission imposed a fine of €432 million on Illumina (and €1,000 on Grail) for having implemented their merger before approval by the European…

On 14 July 2023, the European Commission launched its second template relating to the gatekeeper’s compliance with Article 14 of the DMA (the Template), i.e., their obligation to inform about any intended concentration involving core platform services or any other services in the digital sector or enabling the collection of data (Article 14(1) of the…

The European Commission has published a Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (“Q&A”) document which aims to provide practical information with respect to the application of its recently revised Article 22 referral policy. The Q&A in particular addresses how transaction parties can approach the EC for “early indications” whether a transaction is a candidate for referral…

In the last edition of the International Law Talk Podcast, I had the pleasure to interview Jay Modrall on the Illumina/Grail saga. Jay talks us through the whole case with all its interesting aspects: external and internal dimensions, article 22 referrals, gun-jumping, phase II, court proceedings, substantive issues with competition innovation and much more. Listen…

On September 6, 2022, the European Commission (Commission) announced that it had prohibited the acquisition by Illumina Inc., a U.S company supplying sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis, of Grail LLC, another U.S. company that develops blood tests for the early detection of cancers, under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR).  Grail has…

The newest episode of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast focuses on the revival of the Dutch clause and other current issues of merger control. For this highly topical issue, I interviewed merger control star Tilman Kuhn from White & Case. Earlier this year, the European Commission encouraged Member States to use…

We are happy to announce the new International Law Talk Podcast episode on EU competition law developments in the pharmaceutical sector. And this one is twice as good! Not only are we discussing both competition and IP issues, but I also interviewed two leading experts in the field: Michael Clancy and David Hull from Van…

In Joseph Heller’s seminal World War II novel, the protagonist Captain Yossarian finds himself in an inescapable situation. To continue flying into war is insane, but claiming insanity to avoid going to war immediately demonstrates your sanity. There is no way out. This is Catch-22. But the book also has other fascinating passages, touching on…