Overview Given the unprecedented challenge faced by European businesses in the wake of the public health measures being adopted, the EU and its Member States are taking extraordinary measures to minimise the economic fallout from COVID-19. Over the coming weeks, Member States will make available billions in financial aid an in a speech on 13…
Whilst the EU-UK trade negotiations have barely commenced, one thing is already quite clear: the two sides are poles apart on the key issue of level playing field (LPF) provisions and the extent to which these should feature in a future EU-UK free trade agreement. The aim of these provisions, as originally set out in…
Most competition authorities have a preference for structural remedies in merger cases in the form of divestitures while behavioural remedies are used less frequently. The below blog post analyses whether the historical bias of behavioural remedies is still warranted or whether it is time that authorities take a more flexible and differentiated approach when considering…
Mergers and acquisitions are effective tools for boosting innovation and commercial advancement. With the rising globalism in the circulation of goods and services, undertakings are forced to seek mutually beneficial collaborations to refrain from being outmaneuvered by the creative destruction that defines the way of doing business in the modern day. Vertical integrations that may…
There has been an important milestone in the search for more legal certainty in gun-jumping cases: On September 26, 2019, Advocate General (AG) Tanchev issued his opinion in the Marine Harvest case (C-10/18 P) and recommended that the European Court of Justice (CoJ) partially annul Marine Harvest’s gun-jumping fine. Below we take a look at…
This post explains (i) why there is friction between sustainability initiatives and competition law and (ii) how the EU Commission could take steps to address this. Recent EU developments suggest a renewed interest in this area: In November 2018, the EU Competition Commissioner hinted at a more worldly application of the EU competition rules by emphasising that…
Introduction A skilled tackle or an underhanded foul? In line with the opposing player or offside? Staying on track or cutting corners? In the world of sports, it is difficult to imagine how decisions would be made on these issues absent clear rules and competent referees to enforce them. One thing is certain: a sporting…
On September 5, 2019, Advocate General Bobek published his opinion in the Budapest Bank case (C-228/18). The opinion provides very clear and practical guidance on the concept of restriction of competition by object – a subject that has long been a bone of contention among competition practitioners, enforcers and courts. The opinion is also noteworthy…
The General Court of the European Union has issued two awaited rulings in the Starbucks[1] and Fiat[2] cases. The length and the depth of the analysis made by the judges of the General Court should be acknowledged, even if certain key issues are perhaps too rapidly dealt with. Although the Commission lost in Starbucks, the…
I. Setting the scene: The EU policy agenda The European Union (EU) treaties have set out a particular goal: the establishment of the single market. Achieving the single market is an objective with unclear boundaries regarding tools, stages and expected final outcome. The EU treaties established a goal that implied a voyage into the unknown….
