European Commission

AI, Algorithms, Amazon, Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, European Union, Ex ante regulation

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) became entirely applicable on 7 March 2024 for most gatekeepers. By then, the gatekeepers issued their compliance reports documenting their technical solutions and implementation of the DMA’s provisions under Article 11 DMA as well as their reports on consumer profiling techniques as required under Article 15 DMA. A year later, six gatekeepers…

Cartels, Compliance, European Commission, European Union, Minority stakes, No-poach-agreement

(Camesasca bvba)/ /1 Comment

On June 2, 2025, the EU Commission (Commission) rendered its decision in re Case AT.40795 Delivery Hero/Glovo (Delivery Hero).  This is an important new precedent, to be delivered as part of any deal-making post-integration compliance training.  Failure to heed the guidance contained in Delivery Hero is risky, as now also tangibly illustrated by the size…

Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Merger regulation

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

Executive Vice President (EVP) Ribera is on a “mission impossible” to develop a “new approach to competition policy” “support[ing] European companies to innovate, compete and lead world-wide and contribut[ing] to our wider objectives on competitiveness and sustainability, social fairness and security.”  EVP Ribera was particularly tasked with revising the European Commission’s (Commission’s) decades-old guidelines on…

Competition policy, European Commission, Guidelines, Sustainability

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera has her work cut out for her.  As Commissioner for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, she is not only responsible for steering the European Commission’s competition policy through 2029 –  a formidable task in itself – but also for coordinating the Commission’s Clean Industrial Deal alongside commissioners responsible…

Commitments, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Merger control, Merger notification, State aid, State owned enterprise (SOE), Telecommunications, United Arab Emirates

(University of Vienna, Austria) and (University of Antwerp)/ /Leave a comment

On 24 September 2024, the European Commission (EC) issued the long-awaited first decision (under phase II of the concentration tool) of the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). It took another long wait of seven months, but a provisional public version of the commitment decision in the e&/PPF transaction (Case FS.100011) was published on 4 April…

Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The DMA celebrates its second year of application. Since its existence, the regulation has brought changes to the digital space but also regulatory unpredictability in terms of legal standards and enforcement strategies. It’s, however, a time to reflect on the DMA’s achievements and there is nothing better to assess that than to look out for…

Competition, European Commission, European Union, Remedies

, , (Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

The European Commission’s study on 20 years of EU antitrust remedies finds that while most remedies in antitrust cases were implemented, less than half achieved their intended effect. EU law currently subordinates structural remedies – such as divestments – to behavioral fixes. The study recommends scrapping this hierarchy, as behavioral remedies in particular often proved…

Antitrust, Competition, Enforcement, European Commission, European Union, Remedies

(NERA) and (University of Leeds)/ /Leave a comment

Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. From T. S. Eliot, Four Quartets   Establishing an antitrust infringement can already be an arduous task. Yet, effective antitrust enforcement increasingly requires designing remedies that go above and beyond just prohibiting the infringing behaviour. This…

Competition policy, ESG, European Commission, Internal Market, Sustainability

, , (Simmons & Simmons)/ /Leave a comment

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…

China, European Commission, Public procurement

, (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

On 14 January 2025, the European Commission (“Commission”) published the findings of its first investigation under the EU’s International Procurement Instrument (“IPI”). Findings of the investigation concludes that China unfairly treated EU medical devices and suppliers in its public procurement.[1] The Chinese government did not contest these findings, but noted (accurately) that it had not…