State aid, Ukraine

, (Redcliffe Partners)/ /Leave a comment

On 31 March 2020, the Ukrainian Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court“) upheld the first decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the “AMC“) on the unlawfulness of state aid. In November 2018, the AMC recognised as unlawful state aid in the form of subsidies granted by the local government authority to the public utility company…

COVID-19, Europe, European Commission, State aid

, (Kirkland & Ellis) and (Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

Our previous blog post covered the EU Commission’s (“EC”) Temporary Framework of 19 March 2020 (“Temporary Framework”), which aims at enabling national governments to use the full flexibility of State aid rules to support the economy in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the adoption of the Temporary Framework a number of Member States…

European Commission, Interim measures

(Sidley Austin LLP)/ /Leave a comment

After nearly two decades, on 16 October 2019 the European Commission (“Commission”) dusted off one of its most powerful enforcement tools, i.e. interim measures, amid its investigation against Broadcom.  The application of interim measures was triggered by the perceived need of preventing the harmful consequences of Broadcom’s prima facie (i.e., at first sight) abusive conduct…

Competition law, Latvia, Merger control

(PricewaterhouseCoopers)/ /Leave a comment

1. Brief overview of the existing legislation The current Competition law[1] in Latvia has been in force since 2002 and is the primary legislation of competition in Latvia. It covers all main infringement types, as well as rules on competition neutrality for publicly owned undertakings and restrictions on unfair competition. Its predecessors were Competition law…

Abuse of dominance, Excessive pricing, United Kingdom

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Summary On 10 March 2020 the Court of Appeal upheld the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s (CAT) quashing of the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA)  decision that Pfizer and Flynn Pharma (Flynn) had abused their dominant positions in the market by pricing their epilepsy drug unfairly. Among other aspects, the Court of Appeal broadly upheld the CAT’s…

Competition law, Eurasian Economic Union

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Globalization and regional integration processes are trends that determine the development of the world’s economy at present and, as a result, substantially affect competition policy. To address new challenges in global markets, different states cooperate more closely with each other on competition law matters. Considered international cooperation is required for both practical (conduct of joint…

COVID-19, European Commission, European Union, State aid

, (Kirkland & Ellis) and (Kirkland & Ellis, Belgium)/ /1 Comment

Overview Given the unprecedented challenge faced by European businesses in the wake of the public health measures being adopted, the EU and its Member States are taking extraordinary measures to minimise the economic fallout from COVID-19. Over the coming weeks, Member States will make available billions in financial aid an in a speech on 13…

World Competition Law and Economics Review

(Bird and Bird, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Wouter P.J. Wils, Fundamental Procedural Rights and Effective Enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU in the European Competition Network This article deals with the fundamental procedural rights of companies that are targeted…

COVID-19, European Commission, Merger control

(Baker McKenzie, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

The global coronavirus pandemic impacts all aspects of life.  The operation of the EU merger control regime is no exception.  This situation will likely continue for some considerable period, potentially over several months.  The inevitable resulting disruption will have negative effects on the M&A process for many companies. This post considers the effects of the…

COVID-19, European Commission, Failing firm defence, Merger control

(European Commission) and (Allen & Overy)/ /Leave a comment

COVID-19, or more commonly known as the Coronavirus, has spread across the European Union (“EU”) like wildfire. Several Member States have closed their borders and ordered travel prohibitions, as well as the closing of schools, shops and restaurants. This new status quo will likely remain for several weeks if not months, possibly leading to severe…