EU competition rules are crucial to the strengthening of the Union’s internal market. And direct effect has long been a structuring legal principle of the Union’s legal order, helping to ensure its autonomous nature. Thus,...more
Since 2020, our antitrust/competition practice has expanded the Dechert Antitrust Merger Investigation Timing Tracker (DAMITT) to include Germany and France. This supplements DAMITT’s U.S. and EU coverage with comprehensive...more
The ECJ’s recent preliminary ruling in C-211/22 - Super Bock Bebidas (“Super Bock”) is significant for businesses and competition authorities. It is well-established that categorisation of conduct as a ‘by object’...more
On March 16, in a preliminary ruling requested by the Paris Court of Appeal regarding Towercast’s appeal of the French Competition Authority’s decision in the TDF case, the Court of Justice of the European Union decided ...more
In July 2022, the EC received from the GC in Illumina/Grail an important endorsement of its recent change in the Article 22 referral policy....more
On 19 January 2023, the EU Court of Justice, answering questions from the Italian Council of State, confirmed that the Intel effects-based approach applies also to exclusive dealing practices and held that competition...more
The Dutch Competition Authority has recently approved three different sustainability initiatives in the CO2 capture/storage, soft drinks and floriculture sectors. These approvals demonstrate the Dutch Competition Authority’s...more
Advocate General Juliane Kokott has proposed that the EU Court of Justice should find that competition authorities have the power to apply Article 102 TFEU to corporate transactions that are not reportable, and test under...more
Italy has just enacted the Legislative Decree implementing the ECN Plus Directive so providing the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) with increased enforcement powers. The following sections provide a first overview of the...more
“Green competition law”, one of the most important topics in contemporary competition policy, is starting to take more shape in the EU. On 10 September, following around 200 feedback contributions from stakeholders and an...more
The European Commission (EC) has published a draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and Vertical Guidelines (the Guidelines) for public consultation. The draft revised VBER and Guidelines are an important...more
Sustainability issues are increasingly high on the list of competition policy priorities both at the European Union and member state levels. The European Commission (EC) and national competition authorities are actively...more
Competition regulators have shown their ability to act quickly and decisively in order to help allay the worst impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Could these responses provide a template for achieving environmental and...more
On July 29, 2020, the German Monopolies Commission published its 2020 biennial Report on Competition (Hauptgutachten XXIII: Wettbewerb 2020) under Section 44(1) Act against Restraints of Competition (“GWB”). ...more
How will European Competition Enforcers Respond? The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to the economy and competition enforcement is no exception. Authorities at EU and national level may need to...more
As the UK departs the European Union, the CMA – the UK competition regulator – is facing a transformation in its mandate. White & Case considers how the CMA will approach its workload during and after the Transition Period...more
CARTELS & RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS - CJEU’S EYE-OPENING RULING ON ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE AND OFF-LABEL MISINFORMATION – C 179/16, HOFFMAN-LA ROCHE AND OTHERS V AGCM, 23 JANUARY 2018 – On 23 January 2018, the CJEU...more
Antitrust and Competition - The European Commission conditionally approves a transaction in the data security sector after in-depth review - On 11 December 2018, the European Commission announced it had conditionally...more
On September 26, 2018, the EU General Court (the Court) upheld the European Commission’s refusal to reinvestigate GlaxoSmithKline SA’s (GSK) Spanish “dual-pricing” distribution arrangements, 20 years after the alleged conduct...more
On 7 September 2018, the CAT upheld the CMA's 2017 infringement decision in which it fined golf club manufacturer Ping £1.45m for breaching Article 101(1) TFEU and the UK's Chapter I prohibition by preventing UK retailers...more
Large online platforms such as Amazon, Facebook and Google have a strong presence in Europe. Although general competition law principles apply to them, cases concerning online platforms give rise to a lot of novel questions...more
Algorithms and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have become commonplace in a vast number of markets, and this has drawn the attention not only of competition law academics and practitioners, but also of competition...more
The Background: The Italian Competition Authority has imposed a €60 million fine on Unilever's Italian subsidiary Algida, which sells impulse ice creams, for having implemented a complex system of exclusivity clauses and...more
The Ruling: On December 6, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") issued its long-awaited judgment in the Coty case, which clarifies the extent to which an online platform ban within a selective...more
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has handed down its much-anticipated judgment in Case C-230/16 Coty Germany GmbH v Parfümerie Akzente GmbH (Coty). The case concerns the legality of a prohibition of sales on...more