In the coming years, data collected by vehicles will be subject to a new EU regulatory regime consisting of horizontal rules applicable across many industries and vertical rules designed specifically for the automotive sector. In February 2022, the EU Commission adopted a proposal for a new Data Act, which is currently working its way through…
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded the territory of Ukraine and triggered the largest European war since 1945. The war has led to unprecedented loss of human lives and the biggest refugee crisis since World Word II, according to the UNHCR. At this stage, the economic impact of the war is difficult to predict. Some…
The following is a selection of some of the most important developments in German competition law and policy in 2021. It has been a busy year for the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”), inter alia because the new rules for digital companies took effect. The following covers cases under these new rules, abuse of dominance, merger…
Debates amongst competition scholars and practitioners have been buzzing with references to sustainability recently. Several books and articles were written about the topic in the last two years and several competition agencies have written position papers about it. Most of the debate about the interaction between competition law and sustainability concerns agreements between competitors that…
As International Women’s Month draws to a close, its objectives needn’t be held over until the same time next year but ought instead to remain on the global priority list. This is because meaningful transformation transcends the celebration of an annual event. Inclusivity should be embedded in the fabric of all that we do, including law…
On March 8, 2022, the government of Canada issued a policy statement regarding the review of Russian investments under the Investment Canada Act (ICA): https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ica-lic.nsf/eng/lk81228.html. The policy statement was issued in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the government called “unprovoked and unjustifiable”, and affects the application of both the ICA’s “net benefit” review…
The Commission’s draft chapter on sustainability cooperation may surprise even those following the debate about EU antitrust policy and sustainability closely. A more worldly approach to benefits, a new and useful tailored safe harbour for sustainability standards, plus a good first attempt to keep sustainability cooperation out of Article 101.1 (or at least the ‘by…
Even amidst another Covid-19 dominated year, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) and courts have maintained a steady pace of competition law enforcement. With fewer substantive mergers to review, the BCA’s focus in 2021 has rather been on unlawful information exchange and a variety of vertical restrictions. While the BCA has yet to rule on abuse…
High on the agenda of the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (“ACM”) is the topic of energy transition and sustainability. The ACM has started to tackle the subject this year by assessing two sustainability initiatives under the competition rules and by announcing that it will explore the opportunities that the energy law framework provides…
2021 was another busy year for the UK competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), building on the previous year’s focus on merger control, antitrust enforcement, and digital markets. Heading into 2022, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) had 36 merger investigations, 14 competition enforcement cases, 13 consumer protection cases, three market studies…
