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…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Wouter Wils, Procedural Rights and Obligations of Third Parties in Antitrust Investigations and Proceedings by the European Commission This Article provides a systematic overview of the procedural rights and obligations of third parties…
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…
Better late than never. Last year’s recap post on European Union competition law and policy developments already was quite long (see post here). This year’s post might even be longer. Sorry, dear readers, nothing much I can do – 2021 was a very busy year. Article 101 – of principles, evaluation of rules and…
The past year generated substantial interest in the operation of Canada’s principal legislation governing the review of foreign investments, the Investment Canada Act (“ICA”). In particular, attention was focused on the ICA’s national security review process, which authorizes the Canadian government to block investments by non-Canadians that would be “injurious” to Canada’s national security. We…
On 23 February 2022, the EU Commission published its long-awaited Data Act, the last major building block of the Commission’s February 2020 Data Strategy. The Data Act Is an ambitious piece of legislation with implications for consumers and businesses across the economy, not limited to the technology sector. The act aims to facilitate access to…
On 9 February 2022, the General Court handed down its judgment in the offbeat case Sped-Pro (T-791/19). Notably, the General Court ruled that before rejecting a complaint on the grounds that the competition authority of a Member State is “better placed”, the Commission must examine, in a concrete and precise manner, the indications provided by…
Competition developments in Slovenia followed the international trends. In the M&A frenzy of the pandemic era, the Competition Protection Agency (“CPA”) remained busy with an increased number of merger filings. While COVID cases seemed to have grown in parallel with dealmaking bonanza, the CPA returned to conducting on-site dawn raids. As ever, gun-jumping remained a…
