European Commission

Anticompetitive agreements, European Commission, European Court of Justice, European Union, Information exchange, Judicial review, Restriction by object, Rule of Law

, (Cuatrecasas)/ /Leave a comment

On January 12th 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its long-awaited judgment in C‑883/19 P HSBC v Commission setting aside the judgment of the General Court (GC) but confirming the European Commission’s finding that HSBC had participated in a cartel in the market for Euro Interest Rate Derivatives (EIRD). The judgment clarifies the procedural safeguards that…

Abuse of dominance, Amazon, As Efficient Competitor, Commitments, Discrimination, European Commission

(University of Copenhagen)/ /Leave a comment

For unknown reasons, DG COMP persists in hiding the jewels when it comes to discrimination cases. This covers BdKEP/Deutsche Post AG from 2004, where DG COMP established (recital 93) how Article 102 TFEU covers three forms of discrimination, two exclusionary and one exploitive. As explained later, these have been referred to as horizontal-, vertical-, and…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation

(Gleiss Lutz)/ /Leave a comment

In Goethe’s famous poem “Der Zauberlehrling”, a sorcerer’s apprentice enchants a broom to do the work for him, using magic in which he is not yet fully trained. The floor is soon flooded with water, and the apprentice realizes that he cannot stop the broom because he does not know how. His famous words “The…

App stores, Apple, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, Margin squeeze, Statement of Objections

(Central Bank of Italy)/ /Leave a comment

In competition policy circles around the world, app stores remain a major topic of discussion regarding the regulation of digital markets. On February 28th, 2023, the European Commission (EC) sent a new Statement of Objections (SO) to Apple, “clarifying its concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers”. This replaced the original SO, which…

App stores, Apple, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, Fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND)

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The DMA will start to apply in March 2024. The European Commission (EC) has acquired the compromise to make the process of the DMA’s future implementation, monitoring and oversight of compliance as transparent as possible. After the first two stakeholders’ workshops on the ban on self-preferencing and interoperability relating to messaging services, on the 6th of…

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

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The DMA will start to apply in March 2024. The European Commission (EC) has acquired the compromise to make the process of the DMA’s future implementation, monitoring and oversight of compliance as transparent as possible. After the first stakeholders’ workshop on the ban on self-preferencing, on the 27th of February, the Commission held its second workshop…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Fundamental rights, Merger control, Merger notification, Mergers, Public procurement

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

The European Union’s (EU’s) new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), entered into force on January 12, 2023.  The FSR creates a unique new quasi-antitrust regime to combat distortions of competition in the EU internal market caused by subsidies multinationals receive outside the EU.  It imposes new mandatory notification and approval requirements for acquisitions of significant EU…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation

(Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium) and , (Kirkland & Ellis)/ /Leave a comment

On 6 February 2023, the European Commission (“EC”) published the draft Implementing Regulation and notification forms (together: the “IR”) relating to the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”). The EC has launched a four-week public consultation period that will allow stakeholders to comment; i.e., there may still be changes to the IR. However, it can in…

Digital competition, Digital markets, European Commission, Market definition, Online platforms

(University of Glasgow)/ /2 Comments

In November 2022, the European Commission published its draft revision of the Market Definition Notice. This is the first time the Notice was revised since its adoption in 1997. The draft revised Notice on Market Definition is an impressive piece of work, which makes clear strides in updating the Market Definition Notice for the future….

Brexit, China, Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Merger control, Private investment, Property investment, Public procurement, Regulation, Remedies, State owned enterprise (SOE), Subsidies, Switzerland, Tax, Taxation, Tender, Trade Law, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

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

On 12 January 2023, the new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force. The majority of the FSR will start to apply on 12 July 2023. The FSR constitutes a new investigatory review tool for the European Commission. It will focus on economic behaviour on the internal market by companies who received foreign subsidies…