The Situation: The European Parliament and Council approved the Gigabit Infrastructure Act ("GIA") on 29 April 2024. The GIA replaces Directive 2014/61/EU. The GIA is a regulation which is directly applicable and binding in...more
In Short -
The Development: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") annulled a General Court ("GC") ruling that had adopted a high standard of proof for the European Commission ("EC") to block transactions in...more
8/15/2023
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Judicial Review ,
Merger Controls ,
UK
In Short -
The Development: On 1 June 2023, the Security Screening of Investment, Mergers and Acquisitions Act (Wet Veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames) ("the FDI Act") entered into force, introducing a...more
In Short -
The Situation: On 27 March 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") published a Communication amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities concerning exclusionary abuses ("amended 2008 Guidance...more
In Short -
The Situation: The European Commission has presented three initiatives to transform the connectivity sector on 23 February 2023 (the "Connectivity Package")....more
The European Parliament ("EP") and Council formally adopted the Digital Markets Act ("DMA") in July 2022, imposing new behavioral obligations on large digital platforms qualifying as "gatekeepers." The final agreement...more
The European Competition Network ("ECN") issued a policy statement indicating that member agencies will not intervene in legitimate, cooperative efforts to address disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine and related...more
The Background: The European Commission ("Commission") recently unveiled long-awaited draft revisions to its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation ("VBER") and Vertical Guidelines. The VBER includes safe harbors that exempt...more
8/12/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Trade ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
V-BER (Vertical Block Exemption Regulation)
Lawmakers must amend the German Climate Change Act to protect fundamental rights of future generations.
In a ruling announced on April 29, 2021, the German Federal Constitutional Court ("Court") delivered a groundbreaking...more
New law regulates commercial dealings between suppliers and comparatively larger buyers of food and agricultural products.
Germany passed a new law, Agrarorganisationen-und-Lieferketten-Gesetz ("AgrarOLkG"), the...more
The Development: The European Commission ("EC") recently released two long-awaited legislative proposals, the Digital Services Act ("DSA") and Digital Markets Act ("DMA"), that would significantly increase the EC's regulatory...more
Fortnite game maker Epic Games brings dispute with Apple to Australia, alleging "misuse of market power."
Epic Games, developer of the popular game Fortnite, filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia alleging...more
The EU General Court ruled that the Commission must demonstrate with a "strong probability" that the effect on competition is "significant" to block a merger that does not create a dominant company.
In a rare judgment, the...more
The European Commission recently launched two consultations that would expand its investigative powers and establish regulations for digital platforms. The Commission intends to close perceived gaps in its authority to remedy...more
In January 2020, the European Commission endorsed the Toolbox of mitigating measures agreed by the Member States of the European Union to address security risks related to the rollout of 5G. The protection of national...more
The Background: Manufacturers and brand owners of personal protective equipment ("PPE") and other "essential" items have discovered unauthorised third parties reselling their products at vastly inflated prices, including on...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
Trump Administration Plans Overhaul of NEPA Review Process
The proposed rule changes would considerably limit the scope of environmental reviews of planned energy and...more
3/9/2020
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Deregulation ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Power Purchase Agreements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Trump Administration
In December 2018, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets ("ACM") published guidelines designed to shorten the timeline and reduce the cost of settling cases. The Guidelines clarify ACM's simplified settlement...more
The Situation: On December 18, 2018, the European Union published its European Electronic Communication Code ("Code").
The Result: The Code overhauls the current legislative framework for telecommunications with the aim of...more
The Ruling: On October 9, 2018, the Hague Court of Appeal upheld the Hague District Court's 2015 first-instance ruling that the Dutch State violated the European Convention on Human Rights ("ECHR") and failed to fulfil its...more
The Situation: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") has provided guidance in assessing the validity of discriminatory pricing practices under EU competition law.
The Result: The CJEU followed its recent...more
The Ruling: The Dutch competition authority's approval of KPN's acquisition of fiber operator Reggefiber was upheld by the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal in February 2018. In assessing the merger's competitive...more
3/16/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
EU ,
Global Economy ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Netherlands ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Telecommunications
The Situation: A recent study examining common corporate shareholdings in the United States argues that the holding of even minority stakes in rival companies by institutional investors affects competition. The European...more
3/9/2018
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
EU Merger Directive ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Institutional Investors ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Shareholders ,
UK
The Ruling: The far-reaching retrieval of mobile phone data during dawn raids by the Dutch competition authority is permissible, even if encompassing data of a non-business nature, as affirmed by a recent ruling of the Hague...more
The Ruling: On October 4, 2017, the Amsterdam District Court upheld Nike's ban on authorized distributors selling Nike products on the online platforms of unauthorized resellers.
The Result: Under this Dutch ruling, a...more