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 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 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)
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
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
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: 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: A recent European General Court decision provided valuable guidance on applying abuse of dominance rules (Article 102 TFEU) in the context of software products and provided some welcome clarifications regarding...more