The Belgian Competition Authority (the BCA) announced last week that it has initiated an ex officio investigation into a possible abuse of economic dependence in the agricultural sector, making this the BCA’s first formal...more
Advocate General Anthony Michael Collins has proposed that the European Court of Justice uphold the General Court's Altice judgment. In his Opinion, he considered that the entering into certain types of pre-closing covenants...more
On 22 March 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (the BCA) announced that it had opened an ex officio investigation into an alleged abuse of dominance by Proximus, the incumbent Belgian telecom operator, in the context of...more
The European Commission has published a Frequently Asked Questions and Answers ("Q&A") document which aims to provide practical information with respect to the application of its recently revised Article 22 referral policy....more
On May 16, 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published its long-awaited notice on enforcement priorities for 2022 (Notice). The BCA explains that, with a view to making the best use of its resources, it will...more
Introduction of filing fees in concentration notifications and transposition of the ECN+ Directive into Belgian law - On March 7, 2022, changes to both the Belgian Code of Economic Law (CEL) as well as the Belgian Criminal...more
In February 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority’s (the BCA) prosecution service (Auditoraat/Auditorat) adopted a settlement decision, sanctioning two pharmaceutical wholesalers, Pharma Belgium-Belmedis SA and Febelco CV,...more
INTRODUCTION - Behaviors such as excessive pricing and refusal to supply are often well understood to create potential issues if the company is dominant. However, under the national laws of some EU member states, such conduct...more
As of 1 June 2020, a new form of competition law infringement will be enforceable in Belgium*in addition to the prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements and abuses of a dominant position. The new Article IV.2/1 of the...more
As governments around the world work to stem the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, merger control authorities in jurisdictions around the globe are adapting their operations and procedures. ...more
Merger control enforcement continues to surge around the world and reaches well beyond the largest and traditionally most active enforcers (e.g., United States, European Commission, China, and Brazil). Beyond these countries,...more
Recent Belgian legislation on B2B relations imposes new rules on the allowed content of business contracts....more
Read the latest news on antitrust, competition and economic regulation (ACER) in this Autumn's edition of our quarterly ACER newsletter. Algorithms in the spotlight of antitrust authorities - Joint study by the...more
On 10 October 2019, the competition authorities of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the "Authorities") issued a "Joint Memorandum" which adds further (BeNeLux) perspective to the on-going debate regarding "competition...more
On 1 October 2019, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) adopted a new set of guidelines relating to exchanges of information in the context of trade associations. Following the lack of clarity highlighted by some market...more