European Commission, Foreign direct investment, Foreign investment, Hungary, Merger control, Mergers

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

Background The recent proliferation of foreign direct investment regimes (“FDI”) in Europe baffles practitioners and deal makers alike.  Why is my acquisition of, say, a developer of grapes in Spain potentially subject to CFIUS-like rules?  Can my carefully crafted leveraged buyout of a niche Polish producer of NFTs derail out of national security concerns because…

Abuse of dominance, Collective Redress, Excessive pricing, Israel

(Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co)/ /Leave a comment

At the end of July, the Supreme Court of Israel issued a judgment giving local consumers the right to submit class-action suits against dominant companies in case of exorbitantly high prices.   Background The dominant company at stake, Central Bottling, deals with the production, marketing and distribution of brands of the global Coca-Cola Company. This…

Brexit, Foreign subsidies, State aid, Subsidies, United Kingdom

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Following its exit from the European Union, the UK is no longer bound by the EU’s rules governing public subsidies.  At the end of April 2022, the UK Parliament passed the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which sets out a new framework for granting and controlling public subsidies.  The Act is expected to enter into full…

Competition Law 2021

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The Kluwer Competition Law Blog will remain open but will slow down a bit in the coming weeks. We hope you are having a wonderful summer! If you don’t want to miss out on reading about competition law developments in the meantime, we recommend catching up on our series on the main 2021 developments in…

Abuse of dominance, Amazon, Digital markets, Digital Markets Act, European Commission, European Union, National competition authorities (NCAs), Ne bis in idem

(University Villanueva, Spain)/ /Leave a comment

The final text of the DMA, after the Council’s final approval last 18th July, opened up, yet again, speculation on its enforcement. Although the Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton promptly confirmed that DG Connect would be the Directorate to apply and oversee the compliance of the DMA’s rules and obligations, several questions still…

Abuse of dominance, Arbitration, Germany, Sport

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Background More than 13 years ago, speed skater Claudia Pechstein had an abnormal blood sample, which she had to give as part of a doping control. She was subsequently banned in 2009 by the International Skating Union (ISU) for two years. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirmed this ban in 2009. According to…

Collective Redress, Damages, Disclosure, Effects-based, Enforcement, European Union, Evidence, Fair Fund, International Law Talk, Leniency, Liability, National competition authorities (NCAs), Podcast, Private actions, Private enforcement, Procedures, Standard of Proof

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

Two Germans meet in Graz to discuss private enforcement of competition law in the EU. Tune in for the first in-person interview of the competition edition of the International Law Talk Podcast. On a warm summer day in June, I interviewed Thomas Thiede on our favorite topic: private enforcement of competition law and its newest…

European Union, Merger control

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On 13 July 2022, the General Court of the European Union confirmed the European Commission’s jurisdiction to review the Illumina/Grail transaction following a referral pursuant to Article 22 EUMR. The judgment is an important endorsement of the EC’s recent change in its Article 22 referral policy, and may embolden the EC to call in for…

Australia, Cartels, Criminal enforcement, Criminal sanctions, Disclosure, Leniency

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Legal professional privilege (LPP) has long been recognised as a powerful, though controversial protection. As the Australian High Court once declared, it is “a practical guarantee of fundamental constitutional or human rights”.[1] Yet, despite its well-established jurisprudential position, its utilisation to protect internal cartel investigation records of criminal cartel immunity applicants (IA) from being disclosed…

Switzerland, VBER, Vertical agreements, Vertical restraints

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Following the revision of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation in the European Union, the Swiss Competition Commission is now also proposing to amend its Vertical Notice and Guidelines. Although the proposed amendments are based on the new EU distribution rules, they still depart from them on key issues, resulting in a “Swiss Finish”.   Background…