Jurisdiction

Abuse of dominance, Antitrust, Cartels, Competition, Dominance, Enforcement, Investigations, Leniency, Poland, Policy

(WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr, Poland)/ /Leave a comment

Let me get this straight from the beginning. I am not a big fan of the trend among the competition authorities to introduce whistleblowing programs. For me this seems to be rather a sign of weakness and not of strength. If other available tools (and especially the leniency program) worked well there would probably be…

Austria, Mergers

(MMRA)/ /Leave a comment

Austria will introduce a transaction value merger notification threshold, which will enter into force on 1 November 2017.  The draft law and explanatory notes are available here (in German).  In essence, transactions with a transaction value of more than € 200 million, provided the target has “significant” activities in Austria, will potentially require notification. The…

Antitrust, European Court of Justice, European Union

(Sidley Austin LLP)/ /1 Comment

Hurtling 175 meters below the Franco-Swiss border at near light speed are compact beams of particles, guided by superconducting electromagnets cooled to a temperature colder than outer space itself. At the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, physicists are searching for an elusive but all-embracing theory to unite quantum mechanics and general…

Antitrust, Brexit, Cartels, European Union, Mergers, United Kingdom

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /2 Comments

With her delivery of the UK’s Article 50 notice on March 29, Theresa May has launched the two-year negotiating process leading to the first exit of a Member State from the European Union (EU).  The negotiations will affect virtually every economic and policy area in Europe, including competition policy. These effects will be felt first…

Germany, Mergers

, (Baker McKenzie)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 March 2017, the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) has voted in favour of passing the ninth amendment to the Act against Restraints of Competition (ARC) (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen). According to the 31 March plenary report[1], the draft law is now about to be presented to the president for signature and will enter into force…

Antitrust, Germany

(Hogan Lovells)/ /Leave a comment

Will Germany establish a “Digital Agency” to monitor compliance with competition law rules in digital markets? Will a German “Digital Antitrust Enforcer” become a role model for a European protectionist approach against American and Asian platform providers? The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy seems to see a pressing need for regulation in…

Antitrust, Competition, Damages, Germany, Market definition, Mergers

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /1 Comment

Following the Parliament’s approval in early March, the Federal States Council, Germany’s second legislative chamber, has approved the most recent reform to German competition law on March 31, 2017. The new law will enter into force upon publication in the German official journal, presumably end of April/beginning of May. The reform was triggered by the…

Brexit, Competition, Europe, European Commission, European Court of Justice, European Union, Mergers

(Baker McKenzie, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

We live in a rapidly changing world. The monikers of change are well known to all of us. Trump. Brexit. Eddie Jones. The future is unpredictable. As Joe Cocker sang, “who knows what tomorrow brings”? But let’s climb aboard Elon Musk’s innovative SpaceX Falcon 9 for a moment. Let me take you to another world….

Cartels, Germany

(Heinz & Zagrosek Partner mbB, Germany)/ /Leave a comment

On February 20, 2017, the Federal Cartel Office (“FCO”) has published a brochure outlining its cartel enforcement activities, roughly over the past ten years. The brochure aims at providing an insight into the FCO’s practice combatting cartels, including an overview of the FCO’s investigation proceedings and case studies. The brochure explains the current leniency regime,…

European Commission, European Union, State aid

(McCann FitzGerald) and (McCann Fitzgerald)/ /Leave a comment

What light does the European Commission’s much anticipated 130-page decision, published Monday, 19 December 2016, shed on the Commission’s case and the parties’ prospects for appeal? In the second of a series of short blogs on the Apple case, here’s a quick-look review and comment on the Commission’s decision. We know now that the Commission’s…