European Commission, European Union, Subsidies, White Paper

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

The public consultation for the European Commission’s White Paper on Foreign Subsidies closed on September 23 this year. Perfect timing to discuss the stakeholders’ feedback. Wolters Kluwer therefore organized a webinar on October 8, 2020, involving leading experts from the Commission, WTO, OECD, and private practice: Eddy De Smijter, Head of the International Relations Unit…

Competition enforcement, India, Tax

(Caim Consulting) and (Competition Advisory Services (India) LLP )/ /1 Comment

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the already struggling Indian economy and the sky-high growth in the cartel cases in the country comes as no surprise. However, given the current economic fallout, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’) has lately shown leniency to the companies involved in the cartel cases. The Indian fair-trade…

Competition proceedings, Dawn raids, Europe, Evidence, Fundamental rights, General Court of the European Union, Privacy

(White & Case, Belgium)/ /Leave a comment

On 5 October 2020, the General Court of the European Union (GC) partially annulled decisions of the European Commission (EC) to order on-the-spot inspections (dawn raids) of a number of French retailers[1]. The GC held that the EC did not have sufficiently strong evidence to launch dawn raids in respect of some of the suspected…

Foreign direct investment, Merger control, National competition authorities (NCAs), Poland

(University of Macau)/ /Leave a comment

EU FDI Screening Regulation: separating security and competition concerns Regulation 2019/452 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union (EU FDI Screening Regulation) was adopted on 19 March 2019 and will enter into force on 11 October 2020. Its adoption was prompted by the concerns of various stakeholders alleging the…

Apple, Arm's length principle, European Commission, European Court of Justice, Fiscal aid, Ireland, State aid, Taxation

(Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Background On July 15, 2020, the General Court annulled the 2016 Commission Decision ordering Ireland to recover EUR 13 billion of illegal State aid from Apple,[1] chiefly, because the Commission had not demonstrated to the requisite legal standard that an advantage had been granted.[2] On the same day, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President M. Vestager released…

Austria, Gun jumping, Merger control, National court, Turnover allocation, Turnover thresholds

(E+H Attorneys-at-Law) and (EISENBERGER & HERZOG Rechtsanwalts GmbH)/ /Leave a comment

Antitrust lawyers often work under time pressure when assessing the relevant thresholds to determine where a merger filing must be submitted. They usually keep the requests concerning turnover to a minimum, because turnover is generally attributed to where the customer is located. However, if the parties are not familiar with the geographic allocation rules under…

Energy Policy, Euratom Treaty, European Court of Justice, Nuclear Energy, State aid, Sustainability, United Kingdom

(Greenberg Traurig Germany LLP)/ /Leave a comment

Months before the prospective final Brexit, the ECJ laid what is in all likelihood the last State aid milestone on the UK’s path out of the European Union – at the same time, the ECJ’s judgment in the „Hinkley Point C“ case (Case C-594/18 P Austria v Commission) is a farewell gift to the remaining…

ECN, European Court of Justice, National competition authorities (NCAs), References for a preliminary ruling, Spain

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

A welcome post by the new Deputy Editor Introduction and summary In the recent Anesco case, the ECJ held the preliminary request of the Spanish National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) inadmissible due to the fact that the CNMC was not a ‘court or tribunal’ for the purpose of Article 267 TFEU. The ECJ…

France, Merger control

, (Latham & Watkins LLP)/ /Leave a comment

On 23 July 2020, the French Competition Authority (FCA or Authority) published new merger control guidelines, which replace the previous guidelines dated 4 July 2013. In the new guidelines, the Authority clarifies and completes (i) the procedural rules and (ii) the rules relating to the substantive examination of a merger.   Key points The new…

Dutch clause, European Commission, Merger control

, , , (White & Case)/ /1 Comment

A recent speech[1] by the European Commission’s (the Commission)’s Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager (the Commissioner), on the 30th anniversary of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), praised it as having created “a better life for everyone”, “saved customers billions of euros each year” and, in “a matter of life and death”, ensured the continuation of…