EU and Competition Law

On 23 June 2021, the Rotterdam District Court rendered two (final) judgments regarding damages claims following the European Commission’s decision on an alleged elevators cartel.

On 6 July 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal had to decide whether the pragmatic approach of the Amsterdam District Court, which had applied Dutch law to all air freight cartel damages claims, could be upheld.

The Court of Justice of the European Union recently further clarified which courts within the EU have jurisdiction to hear follow-on damage claims.

On 30 June 2021, a legislative proposal introducing an investment screening on grounds of national security in the Netherlands was submitted to the House of Representatives.

While skimming through employees’ chat conversations and e-mails, it is not uncommon for competition authorities to stumble across other potential antitrust violations, separate from the initial scope of the search.

On 1 July 2021, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) imposed a fine of EUR 19.5 million on drug manufacturer Leadiant for excessive pricing of their orphan drug CDCA-Leadiant.

Recent enforcement action shows that companies involved in data sharing and data pooling or sustainability cooperation need to tread carefully.

On 9 July 2021, the Commission published its draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines.

Recent developments gave rise to write this update: the European Parliament has ratified the Climate Law and confirmed the goal of the European Union on climate neutrality by 2050.