On September 13, the European Commission (Commission) proposed a regulation creating a new framework for screening foreign direct investments into the European Union (EU). The proposal would address the potential for divergence among existing Member State screening mechanisms and create a new oversight role for the Commission itself. The framework could affect acquisitions in a…
The financial crisis led to the bail out of several banks which were considered to be “too big to fail.” Considering the costs of those bail outs for the European taxpayer and in view of the importance of financial stability for the proper functioning of the EU’s internal market, the EU institutions created a new…
In April 2017, the European Commission (“Commission”) published a tender offer seeking an assessment of the EU market for loan syndication and possible implications under EU competition rules. The successful candidate will draft a report providing an overview of the market and the relevant elements that the Commission may use for assessing the competitive environment…
On May 10, 2017, the European Commission published the final report on its sector inquiry on competition in the e-commerce sector (the E-Commerce Report) and a mid-term review of its digital single market (DSM) initiative (the DSM Review), both of which were originally announced in May 2015. The E-Commerce Report confirms that the Commission has…
On 22 March 2017, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Directive to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. The proposed Directive, if adopted, would entail the most significant reform of the antitrust rules in the European…
The European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has emphasised two important developments for EU antitrust enforcement, which have emerged from technological advancements: The Commission is taking proactive steps to consider whether the increasing reliance on computers to handle business processes and decisions raises competition law issues. One area of current concern is the use of algorithms, in…
We live in a rapidly changing world. The monikers of change are well known to all of us. Trump. Brexit. Eddie Jones. The future is unpredictable. As Joe Cocker sang, “who knows what tomorrow brings”? But let’s climb aboard Elon Musk’s innovative SpaceX Falcon 9 for a moment. Let me take you to another world….
The European Commission has declared its intention to devote more resources in 2017 to investigating and rectifying what it sees as the endemic competition problems in the European rail sector. It believes that it now needs to prioritise the enforcement of the antitrust, State aid and regulatory rules and obligations in the rail sector through…
What light does the European Commission’s much anticipated 130-page decision, published Monday, 19 December 2016, shed on the Commission’s case and the parties’ prospects for appeal? In the second of a series of short blogs on the Apple case, here’s a quick-look review and comment on the Commission’s decision. We know now that the Commission’s…
When discussing mergers, both Commission officials and private practitioners often characterise these as a “N to N-1”. We all regularly talk and hear about “6-to-5s”, “5-to-4s”, “4-to-3s”, “3-to-2s”, and even “2-to-1s”. This blog discusses the growing view that within the Commission, a “4-to-3 or fewer” distinction has become a corridor-talk presumption of anti-competitive effects. On…
