On 12 November 2015, Ukraine’s Parliament adopted in the first reading a bill amending the merger control rules. This initiative addresses most of the problems that had been requiring an adequate solution for a long time yet remained disregarded till now. A brief overview of the contemplated novelties is provided below. Financial Thresholds Increase The…
11th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE GLOBAL COMPETITION LAW CENTER Thursday-Friday, November 26-27, 2015 from 9:00 AM onwards THE NOTION OF RESTRICTION OF COMPETITION: REVISITING THE FOUNDATIONS OF ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT IN EUROPE Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Bernard Amory, Christopher Bellamy, Yves Botteman, Cristina Caffarra, Peter Camesasca, Pascale Déchamps, Raphaël De Coninck, Carles Esteva-Mosso, Luc Gyselen, Pablo Ibanez-Colomo,…
We have recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the EU Merger Regulation, which came into force on 21 September 1990. Since that date, we have seen an exponential growth in merger control notifications at the European level – at least up until the financial crisis that began in 2008. The good news is that, to…
If the recent Wahl opinion could have instilled some doubts about the responsibility of cartel facilitators under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),[1]Advocate General Wahl Opinion, AC Treuhand v Commission, ECLI:EU:C:2015:350 the debate has been brought to an end with the Court of Justice of the European Union’s…
This blog deals with the 2nd part of the FCO’s discussion paper on internet platforms: possible theories of harm and intervention of competition agencies. For the first part on general concepts please see my previous blog. Merger control The FCO explains that reducing the number of platforms may actually increase competition, due to the easier…
The Bulgarian Competition Protection Commission (“CPC” or “Commission”) has recently issued an important decision regarding the parallel trade of pharmaceuticals and the possibilities for its limitations. In September 2013 ,- Sopharma Trading JSC (“Sopharma”), which is the affiliated distributor of one of the leading Bulgarian pharmaceutical companies, filed with the CPC a complaint against several…
78th Lunch Talk of the Global Competition Law Center Friday, October 30, 2015 from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM The Legal Status of Rebates after Post Danmark II Nicholas KHAN, Legal Service, European Commission Pablo IBANEZ-COLOMO, London School of Economics Moderator: Denis Waelbroeck, Ashurst LLP & GCLC Programme: 12:00 – 12:30: Sandwich lunch and socializing…
The European Commission (or to be more precise, and to point the finger in the right direction, DG Competition) has sweeping powers of investigation in cases of suspected infringement. Indeed, it has even sought and obtained powers that it then seems reluctant to use, such as the right to enter private homes in search of…
I. INTRODUCTION In June 2015, Canada’s Competition Bureau released its updated draft of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines (“Draft IPEGs”) for public review and consultation. The Draft IPEGs are intended to reflect the 2009 amendments to the Competition Act (the “Act”), including the changes to the criminal conspiracy provisions and the introduction of a new…
Canada’s Commissioner of Competition is armed with a variety of compulsory powers that he can use in pursuing investigations. One such power is the ability, with the permission of a court, to subpoena documents and information under section 11 of the Canadian Competition Act. Of late, the Commissioner has been using such orders quite extensively,…
