EU and Competition Law

The judgment of the Court of Appeal of 's-Hertogenbosch of 27 May 2025 concerns a collective action brought by Consumentenbond and Stichting Aequitas against Koninklijke Philips N.V. under the old Dutch collective action regime of Article 3:305a DCC.

Companies should review their recruitment and hiring policies and practices. The Commission has joined the hunt for ‘job cartels’ with its first ever cartel in the labour market.

Suppliers and distributors should double-check their agreements. The European Court of Justice has provided guidance for the assessment of exclusive distribution agreements.

On 29 April 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority announced its sectoral and strategic priorities. These priorities reflect a confident authority that seeks to strengthen its enforcement tools to meet new challenges in competition law.

A potential major overhaul of EU merger control review began on 8 May 2025. Time for stakeholders to speak up about whether and particularly how the European Commission should incorporate wider strategic or societal objectives into its merger assessments.

The European Commission has published its first-ever in-depth decision under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, marking a significant milestone in understanding the application of this regulatory tool. We identify important takeaways for future practice.