EU and Competition Law

The Belgian Competition Authority imposed a fine of €490,112 on Le Creuset for vertical price fixing (also known as resale price maintenance).

In deze kroniek geven we een overzicht van de meest spraakmakende rechtspraak binnen het mededingingsrecht in 2022.

The Dutch general investment screening regime came into effect in June 2023. Decisions are not yet publicly available. However, three guidance papers list the practical experience gained so far and help to assess whether a transaction is notifiable.

Since 2021, Dutch rules against unfair trading practices, which implemented an EU Directive, apply to business-to-business relationships in agri-food supply chains. Enforcement by the ACM, initially slow, is now intensifying.

2023 marked the near finale of the European Commission’s overhaul of its competition policy, leaving only a few loose ends to tie up in 2024/2025. It is now time to watch theory be put into practice by the competition authorities and at the courts.

The rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the discretionary powers of international sports associations to authorise alternative competitions show that the specifics of sports are no reason to tread lightly when applying EU competition rules.

The Rotterdam District Court has delivered its judgment in the ACM's first-ever vertical restraints case. It upholds the fine imposed on Samsung for coordinating its retailers' online consumer prices under the pretence of 'price recommendations'.

Following the EC’s Horizontal Guidelines, the ACM and CMA have also published updated guidance on sustainability agreements. The approaches adopted by the three authorities are largely similar, but leave room for divergent assessments in some respects.