The twin interim proceedings in the Vivendi/Lagardère gun-jumping investigation raise interesting legal issues in the wake of the ongoing case Meta Platforms v Commission (C-497/23 P), and in the wider context of ever more detailed requests for information from the European Commission in competition inquiries: what are the boundaries of the Commission’s powers to request…
Japan is now the fourth region in the World to have adopted complementary rules to its competition law regime to capture the power of Big Tech. Following Germany’s, the UK’s and the European Union’s steps, Japan in June the Act on Promotion of Competition for Specified Smartphone Software (for short, the Smartphone Software Competition Promotion…
On June 20, 2024, the Canadian Parliament passed important changes to Canada’s Competition Act (Act) with the enactment of Bill C-59, the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023 (Bill C-59). The amendments to the Act contained in Bill C-59 mark the third (stage in the Canadian government’s extensive overhaul of Canadian competition law, which began…
On June 6, 2024, AG Collins rendered his opinion in the referral request by the Amsterdam District Court (“ADC”) regarding price parity clauses and product market definition in the context of litigation involving Booking.com (“Booking”), the online platform acting as an intermediary between end customers and hotels, also called online travel agent (OTA). Summary…
Both Member States and the European Union (‘EU’) have pledged their commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (‘Agenda’) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’). The Agenda represents a comprehensive common framework for sustainable development. The objective is to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by eradicating poverty,…
It was only a matter of time before the European Commission (“EC“) launched its first ever in-depth investigation of an M&A transaction under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR“). On 10 June 2024, that time came: The EC referred the acquisition of the Czech telecom operator PPF Telecom Group B.V. (“PPF“) by the Emirates Telecommunications Group…
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) was initially designed according to a centralised system of enforcement. At least, that was the configuration the European Commission presented within its first draft of the regulation. During the legislative process, the DMA’s enforcement system slightly pivoted to a quasi-centralised system of enforcement. National competition authorities (NCAs) of the Member…
The European Court of Justice has issued its judgment in Deutsche Telekom confirming that the European Commission must pay “a standard rate” of interest to companies that have been awarded a reduction or annulment of their antitrust fine on appeal. The European Commission must now apply this clear ruling to a number of claims for…
On 4th of April 2024, Egypt’s Prime Minister issued a decree by which the Executive Regulations of Competition Law No. (3) of 2005 was amended to put in detail the changes that had been made to the said Law introducing Egypt’s first pre-merger control regime. This blog post sheds light on the role of the…
Introduction On April 23, 2024, the Canadian Competition Bureau (Bureau) issued its report (Report) on the proposed acquisition of Viterra Limited (Viterra) by Bunge Limited (Bunge), concluding that the transaction (Proposed Transaction) is likely to result in substantial anticompetitive effects in certain agricultural markets in Canada. Bunge and Viterra are both multinational agribusiness companies. In…
