Ancillary, Anticompetitive agreements, Burden of Proof, Competition enforcement, Enforcement, European Court of Justice, Germany, References for a preliminary ruling, Regulation, Restriction by object, Sport

(University of Cologne)/ /Leave a comment

Sport itself is all about the competition on the pitch. However, sports federations’ actions and regulations have come increasingly into the focus of competition watchdogs and courts worldwide. A well-known example is the dispute over the establishment of the European Super League. As the recently announced merger between golf associations PGA and L.I.V. demonstrates, competition…

Dutch clause, European Commission, Gun jumping, Merger control

, , , , (Simmons & Simmons)/ /Leave a comment

The EC sets the highest possible fine of 10% of revenue on Illumina, and for the first time fines target (Grail), for gun-jumping, setting a precedent. On 12 July 2023, the European Commission imposed a fine of €432 million on Illumina (and €1,000 on Grail) for having implemented their merger before approval by the European…

Abuse of dominance, Concentrations, Digital, Digital competition, Digital economy, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, Dutch clause, European Commission, Ex ante regulation, Merger control, Merger notification, National competition authorities (NCAs), Platforms

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

On 14 July 2023, the European Commission launched its second template relating to the gatekeeper’s compliance with Article 14 of the DMA (the Template), i.e., their obligation to inform about any intended concentration involving core platform services or any other services in the digital sector or enabling the collection of data (Article 14(1) of the…

European Court of Justice, Exemptions, National competition authorities (NCAs), National court, Portugal, Price fixing, Resale price maintenance, Restriction by object, Unilateral effects, Vertical agreements

, , (Morais Leitão)/ /1 Comment

Introduction On 29 June 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ or Court) issued its judgment in case C-211/22, where it reiterates the legal framework applicable to vertical price fixing agreements under EU competition law. The focus on the need to assess the legal and economic context in which the agreement is celebrated is particularly…

Canada, Competition law, No-poach-agreement, Wage fixing

, (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP) and (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada)/ /Leave a comment

On June 23, 2023, amendments to the Canadian Competition Act (Act) took effect which now  make it a per se criminal offence for unaffiliated employers to agree, conspire or arrange to: “Fix, maintain, decrease or control salaries, wages or terms and conditions of employment” (wage-fixing agreements); or “Not solicit or hire each other’s employees” (no-poach/non-solicit…

European Commission, Foreign subsidies, Foreign Subsidy Regulation, Mergers, Tender

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

The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) gives the European Commission (the Commission) broad powers to investigate and remedy distortions of the European Union (EU) internal market caused by non-EU subsidies and subjects significant acquisitions and public tenders to a new EU notification and approval regime. The Commission’s publication of an implementing regulation (the Implementing Regulation)…

Amazon, General Court of the European Union, Investigations, Request for information (RFI)

, (Mayer Brown)/ /Leave a comment

Introduction Like many competition authorities, the European Commission (“Commission”) has far-reaching powers to ask for huge amounts of information for its competition law investigations (see Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003, Articles 18 to 21). These days it is no longer just hard copy documents being asked for, but significant amounts of electronic data in specified formats…

Germany, National competition authorities (NCAs), Private enforcement, Sector inquiries

, , , (Morrison Foerster)/ /Leave a comment

On July 6, 2023, the German parliament adopted the “Competition Enforcement Act.” The new law still lacks final approval by the Bundesrat, which will not be granted before the end of September, but this is only a formality. It marks the 11th amendment to the Act against Restraints on Competition (ARC11), Germany’s national antitrust law….

European Commission, Guidance, Horizontal, Network Sharing Agreements, Telecommunications

, (White & Case)/ /Leave a comment

On 1 June 2023, the European Commission published its new Horizontal Cooperation Guidelines (HCG) with a view to providing improved guidance for competitors wishing to cooperate, including in areas not previously covered in the 2012 HCG. One such new area is specific to the telecommunications sector and covers network sharing agreements (NSAs). This analysis sets…

Foreign investment, Spain

(Pérez-Llorca, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

Three years after the introduction of Spain’s FDI General Screening Mechanism (in 2020), Spain has finally approved its FDI Implementing Regulation (for the entire text, unfortunately only available in Spanish, please click here). Although many of the rules now in force could be found in drafts made available by the Ministry for Industry, Commerce and…