Jurisdiction

Czech Republic, Enforcement, Enlargement, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Memorandum of Understanding, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Rule of Law, Slovakia, Ukraine

(University of Amsterdam) and (State University of Trade and Economics and Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition)/ /Leave a comment

In April 2023, a Memorandum was signed between the competition authorities of eight Member States (Poland, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia) and the competition authorities of the newest EU candidate countries Moldova and Ukraine for regional cooperation in the field of competition policy. The main objective of this initiative was to promote…

Digital, Digital economy, Merger control, Merger regulation, Merger Thresholds, United Kingdom

(Arthur Cox)/ /Leave a comment

This article discusses how the CMA has reached a ‘tipping point’ in ‘Big Tech’ merger enforcement, what the Competition Appeals Tribunal could do in Microsoft v Competition and Markets Authority to recentre and refocus the CMA’s work, and why this all matters to digital markets, and beyond.                …

Competition law, Competition policy, Switzerland

, (Lenz & Staehelin)/ /Leave a comment

The Swiss government aims at a partial revision of the Swiss Cartel Act. Now that the consultation process is completed, the Federal Council has unveiled its draft legislation. The revision aims at modernizing merger control and strengthening private damage litigation. The draft legislation remarkably also provides for a re-introduction of the effects test for hardcore…

Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, India, Merger control, Merger Thresholds

(Guru Nanak Dev University)/ /Leave a comment

India is the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world with multiple firms operating across different sectors in the country. In 2022, Indian start-ups raised nearly USD 24 billion, more than twice the funds raised in 2020 (USD 10.9 billion) and 2019 (USD 12.8 billion), despite the challenging market conditions. The top five sectors that…

Jurisdiction, National court, Netherlands, References for a preliminary ruling

(Lindenbaum)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The MTB/Heineken case concerns the question of whether a claimant in EU antitrust follow-on damages proceedings can use a parent company that is not addressed in an authority’s fining decision as an anchor defendant for jurisdiction under the Brussels Ibis Regulation. The Dutch Supreme Court intends to refer preliminary questions on this topic to…

Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Türkiye

, , , (ACTECON)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction In line with the global trend, the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) has recently displayed a remarkable level of interest in addressing competition concerns in digital markets. Maybe being one of the months where the output of the TCA has peeked its highest, in April 2023 the TCA announced (i) the publication of the Preliminary…

Labour market, United Kingdom

, (White & Case) and (White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

In a policy paper on “Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy”, the UK government has announced proposals to limit the duration of non-compete clauses in employment contracts to three months. This proposal reflects the growing concern worldwide concerning the use of non-competes. Earlier this year, the FTC in the US took even more extreme action…

Competition Law 2022, Poland

, (Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw)/ /Leave a comment

In 2022, the activities of the Polish Competition Authority (Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, hereinafter: UOKIK), and thus the developments in competition law in Poland, were affected by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the war in Ukraine and the following energy crisis. Moving ahead with the times, the UOKIK undertook various…

Competition law, European Union, Merger control, Mergers, Simplification package

, , (Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium)/ /1 Comment

            On 20 April 2023 the EU Commission adopted a new legislative package aimed at simplifying its procedures for reviewing transactions under EU merger control rules. Under the new rules the Commission seeks to assess more cases under the simplified procedure and reduce overall reporting requirements by 25%. The new…

Competition and Markets Authority, Competition enforcement, Digital competition, Merger control, United Kingdom

, (Pinsent Masons LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Microsoft has said it will appeal a decision by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to block its proposed acquisition of video games developer and publisher Activision Blizzard. Activision is the company behind a number of popular game series, including ‘Call of Duty’. Microsoft agreed a deal to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion in…