Public procurement

Advocate General, Damages, Disclosure, Enforcement, Leniency, Private enforcement, Procedures, Public procurement, Settlement

(University of Vienna)/ /Leave a comment

The scope of the protection of leniency documents appears to be the central issue when it comes to the discussion about whether there is a conflict between private and public enforcement. AG Szpunar’s statements in the recently published Opinion (C-2/23) have now shed light on the CJEU’s possible direction for how to deal with this…

National competition authorities (NCAs), Proportionality, Public procurement, Spain, Tender

(Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Herbert Smith Freehills)/ /Leave a comment

The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has approved Communication 1/2023 of 13 June, published in Spain’s Official State Journal (BOE) on 30 June 2023, (i) establishing that the authority holding sanctioning powers in matters of competition is the competent authority for imposing a public procurement ban, and (ii) setting out the general criteria…

European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Fundamental rights, Merger control, Merger notification, Mergers, Public procurement

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The European Union’s (EU’s) new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), entered into force on January 12, 2023.  The FSR creates a unique new quasi-antitrust regime to combat distortions of competition in the EU internal market caused by subsidies multinationals receive outside the EU.  It imposes new mandatory notification and approval requirements for acquisitions of significant EU…

Brexit, China, Competition policy, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Merger control, Private investment, Property investment, Public procurement, Regulation, Remedies, State owned enterprise (SOE), Subsidies, Switzerland, Tax, Taxation, Tender, Trade Law, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

(University of Vienna, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

On 12 January 2023, the new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force. The majority of the FSR will start to apply on 12 July 2023. The FSR constitutes a new investigatory review tool for the European Commission. It will focus on economic behaviour on the internal market by companies who received foreign subsidies…

European Champions, European Commission, European Union, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Foreign subsidies, Merger control, Public procurement, Subsidies, White Paper

(Norton Rose Fulbright, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

On May 5, 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) adopted a proposal for a regulation (the Anti-Subsidy Regulation) to combat distortions of competition in the European Union (EU) caused by subsidies granted by non-EU Member States to companies doing business in the EU.  The Anti-Subsidy Regulation is an important part of the von der Leyen…

Anticompetitive agreements, Competition enforcement, European Court of Justice, France, National competition authorities (NCAs), Public procurement

, (Latham & Watkins LLP)/ /1 Comment

On 25 November 2020, the French Competition Authority (FCA) announced that it was amending its decision-making practice regarding responses to calls for tenders by subsidiaries of the same group. Up until now, the FCA considered that it was unlawful for subsidiaries of the same group to submit separate tenders in the same public procurement procedure…

Bid-rigging, Bulgaria, Cartels, Public procurement

(Eversheds Sutherland, Bulgaria) and (Tsvetkova, Bebov and Partners)/ /Leave a comment

Flashback In January 2019, the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (“BCPC”) issued a Statement of Objections against in total 24 Bulgarian undertakings for bid-rigging in public procurement procedures under the National Program for Energy Efficiency of Multifamily Residential Buildings (“Energy Efficiency Program”), carried out in the municipalities of Targovishte (Northeast Bulgaria) and Gotse Delchev (Southwest…

Abuse of dominance, Netherlands, Public procurement

(Bird & Bird, The Netherlands) and (Bird & Bird)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction The Authority for Consumers and Markets (“ACM“, the Dutch competition authority) was in 2017 – after years of silence – finally able to fine an undertaking for abuse of dominance. A heavy fine of almost € 41 million was imposed on the state-owned Dutch railway operator N.V. Nederlandse Spoorwegen (“NS“). According to ACM, NS abused…

Bid-rigging, Bulgaria, Cartels, Public procurement

(Eversheds Sutherland, Bulgaria) and (Tsvetkova, Bebov and Partners)/ /Leave a comment

After almost three years of investigation, the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (“BCPC”) has issued a Statement of Objections against in total 24 Bulgarian undertakings for bid-rigging in public procurement procedures under the National Program for Energy Efficiency of Multifamily Residential Buildings (“Energy Efficiency Program”). The bid-rigging was considered a breach of Article 15…