Foreign direct investment ("FDI") screening was one of the major topics of 2023 as a myriad of new regimes joined the FDI club and its more seasoned members continue to strengthen scope and enforcement, with the impacts felt...more
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation took effect on 12 July 2023 to much fanfare. We take a look at the top five things PE funds need to know when considering acquisitions with a European footprint.
The Foreign Subsidies...more
The long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill has been published. Touted as a Bill to "stamp out unfair practices and promote competition in digital markets", the DMCC seeks to enhance consumer protection...more
The proposed Windsor Framework revising the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland will, if implemented, solve some of the problems inherent in the operation of the Protocol and introduce collaborative processes for resolving...more
On 8 February 2023, the CAT upheld claims by both BMW and Volkswagen confirming that the CMA cannot compel responses to information requests from companies with no territorial connection to the UK. In March 2022, the CMA...more
On 1 September, the European Commission (EC) issued its Second Annual Report under Article 5(4) of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) Screening Regulation along with an EC Staff Working Document (SWD). The Report covers the...more
On 12 July 2022, the UK Competition and Markets Authority published final guidance for its new antitrust rules governing vertical agreements. The new rules provide additional flexibility for the design of distribution...more
The Subsidy Control Bill (the "SCB"), first introduced by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the "BEIS") on 30 June 2021, is making its way through the House of Lords ahead of expected adoption in...more
State aid remained one of the key sticking points in Brexit negotiations right until the announcement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement ("TCA") on Christmas Eve 2020. One of the key priorities of the European Union...more
2/8/2021
/ BEIS ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Assistance Policies ,
Judicial Review ,
Member State ,
State Aid ,
Subsidies ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The General Court has upheld a challenge to a 2016 Commission decision that had required Ireland to recover €13.2 billion in illegal State aid from Apple, on account of alleged preferential tax treatment for the...more
7/20/2020
/ Annulment ,
Apple ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Illegal State Aid ,
IP License ,
Ireland ,
Multinationals ,
Popular ,
Refunds ,
Reversal ,
State Aid ,
Subsidiaries
On 2 June 2020, the European Commission published its roadmap on the possible introduction of a ‘new competition tool’ that would allow it to initiate market investigations into perceived structural competition problems, with...more
In anticipation of the wave of requests from stricken companies due to the COVID-19 outbreak for more long-term State support, on 8 May, the Commission extended the scope of its State aid Temporary Framework to allow Member...more
On 3 April, the Commission adopted an Amendment to extend the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the COVID-19 outbreak adopted on 19 March (covered in our previous alert: European Commission...more
The European Commission has now adopted a Framework of temporary State aid rules enabling Member States to adopt measures to support the growing number of businesses suffering because of the COVID-19 outbreak. This is the...more
3/25/2020
/ Banks ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Response ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Grants ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Distress ,
Interest Rates ,
Member State ,
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ,
State Aid ,
State of Emergency ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deferral ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
As the number of businesses around the EU affected by the COVID-19 outbreak grows, many Member States are considering or have announced substantial supporting packages in an effort to limit the impact of the outbreak on the...more
The European Court of Justice's ruling in Paroxetine, handed down in record time just before Brexit, confirms the narrow interpretation of restrictions by object given in other recent cases. It also clarified certain issues...more
2/19/2020
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Appeals ,
EU ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Generic Drugs ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Patents ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reverse Payment Settlement Agreements ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT)