European Union

Abuse of dominance, European Court of Justice, European Union, Jurisdiction clauses, Private actions

, (McCann FitzGerald)/ /Leave a comment

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) held recently in Apple Sales International v MJA acting as liquidator of eBizcuss.com[1] that claims alleging abuse of a dominant position could come within the terms of a jurisdiction clause even where the clause did not expressly refer to claims based on competition law.   Relevant Rules The rules…

Big data, European Union, Mergers

(Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

Unlike recent merger cases where the Commission looked at the concentration of data within a merged entity, the Commission’s focus in Apple/Shazam was on vertical concerns, including as a result of access to Shazam customer data.  The focus was more about the potential impact on Apple’s rivals rather than whether the acquisition of data would…

European Union, Foreign direct investment

, (Dentons)/ /1 Comment

On 20 November 2018, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a political agreement on the proposed EU framework for screening of foreign direct investments (FDIs). The proposal, put forward by the Commission in September 2017, aims at protecting key strategic industries and assets in Europe whilst maintaining the EU’s appeal to foreign…

Amazon, European Union, Litigation, Online platforms

, (Hausfeld)/ /2 Comments

In September 2018, the European Commission (“EC”) sent out formal requests for information (“RFIs”) to investigate allegations of an anticompetitive conduct by Amazon. The investigation relates to the interdependencies between Amazon’s third-party sales platform for retailers (“Amazon Marketplace”) and Amazon’s own online retail operations. Operating both on an upstream intermediation market for businesses (“merchants”) and…

Enforcement, European Union, Lobbying, Policy

, (Kreab)/ /Leave a comment

EU competition policy: based on political discretion? Many would agree that Brussels’ legislative priorities guide competition policy and enforcement. Under President Juncker’s mandate, the creation of an Energy Union, a Single Digital Market, and a better functioning internal market have been at the top of the agenda. In a recent interview with the Guardian, EU’s…

European Union, Unfair trading practices

(Utrecht Law School)/ /Leave a comment

A fragmented legal landscape In April 2018, the European Commission revealed a proposal for a directive on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the food supply chain. The proposal comes in response to concerns about power imbalances in the food supply chain – an issue which has been in the eyes of competition authorities…

Antitrust, Brexit, European Union, Mergers, United Kingdom

, , (Latham & Watkins LLP)/ /1 Comment

The UK’s expected separation from the European Union (EU) on 29 March 2019 (Brexit Date) will re-cast the process by which parties pursuing global mergers secure their antitrust approvals. It will also reshape the potential exposure that parties face when subjected to global investigations of anticompetitive conduct. As Brexit rapidly approaches, businesses increasingly seek guidance…

Connected cars, European Union, Fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND)

, , , , , , , (Jones Day)/ /Leave a comment

Standards and Standard-Setting Organizations Smart cars rely on interconnectivity and interoperability: in order to achieve autonomous driving, driverless vehicles will have to understand and engage with their environment so they can react and adapt accordingly. Connected cars will become one of the applications of the internet of things as vehicles will be constantly exchanging information…

European Union, State aid, Tax

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On September 4, 2018 the European Commission published the non-confidential version of its decision in the Engie case (SA.44888), where it concluded that Luxembourg had granted illegal State aid through two tax rulings.[1] The decision has been appealed by Luxembourg.[2] The decision brings interesting additions and precisions to the arguments developed in the earlier cases…

Brexit, European Union, State aid, United Kingdom

(Pinsent Masons LLP)/ /1 Comment

The UK Government has recently indicated its intention to transpose the EU State aid rules into domestic legislation, even in the event of the UK exiting the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement on 29 March 2019.  This was made clear in a “no deal” Brexit technical notice on State aid (the “notice”) published, alongside 24…