122 results French supermarket dawn raids down the drain On 9 March 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the European Commission should properly record interviews if they are used to gather information regarding the subject matter of the investigation. Abuse: an access request you can’t refuse? The European Court of Justice has confirmed that the essential facilities test is limited to ‘pure’ access cases. Infringement of a regulatory access obligation must be assessed under the general framework for abuse of dominance. Competition law developments in 2022 While 2022 revolved around new and improved regulatory tools, the focus in 2023 will be on putting these tools to use. More merger-related obligations, digital sector scrutiny and clarity on competition-law and consumer-law aspects is imminent. European Court of Human Rights rules in landmark case that governments must combat climate change The European Court of Human Rights rules that governments have an obligation to take effective measures to meet climate targets and combat the harmful effects of climate change. Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens oordeelt in een landmark case dat overheden klimaatverandering moeten bestrijden Overheden zijn verplicht om effectieve maatregelen te treffen om klimaatdoelstellingen te behalen en de schadelijke gevolgen van klimaatverandering tegen te gaan, zo oordeelt het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens. Settlement procedure and fine for vertical price fixing in Belgium The Belgian Competition Authority imposed a fine of €490,112 on Le Creuset for vertical price fixing (also known as resale price maintenance). Actualiteiten Internationaal Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Ondernemen (IMVO) Op 14 december 2023 hebben de Europese wetgevingsorganen overeenstemming bereikt over de inhoud van de Europese Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). The Commission’s ‘killer’ pharma campaign: reason to complain? The European Commission is on the prowl in the pharma sector. Recent cases on alleged disparagement and pipeline drugs-killings show that it is not afraid to show its teeth and, ultimately, bite. Digital antitrust conduct: too elusive to catch? The ink on the Digital Market Act has barely dried, but fast-evolving digital developments already have competition authorities calling for new tools. Is Big Tech not kept in check by the DMA, the antitrust rules and the EU Merger Regulation after all? No impairment of the EC’s impartiality: ECJ upholds Scania judgment The ECJ upheld the Commission’s fine on Scania for participating in a cartel. The Commission’s impartiality is not necessarily impaired by having the Commission case team in charge of the settlement procedure also deal with the penalty decision. Competition law in 2024: putting theory into practice 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. Corporate social responsibility for Dutch companies: from B Corp to BVm Since to this date no specific legal form for the social enterprise exists in the Netherlands, companies are looking for other ways to demonstrate their commitment to CSR, for instance by aligning with private codes and labels. Developments in DMA land: EU tags Big Tech as first Gatekeepers The European Commission has designated six Tech Giants (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) as gatekeepers for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). ECJ calls the shots: CK Telecoms ruling sent back to General Court The ECJ overruled the General Court in its CK Telecoms ruling, taking the strict requirements that the GC placed on the Commission when reviewing mergers off the table. This will make it easier for competition authorities to intervene in merger cases. Belgian watchdog tackles bid rigging In recent cases in the fire protection and private security sectors, the Belgian Competition Authority has made the prosecution of bid-rigging one of its top priorities, imposing hefty fines on infringers for their participation in cartel schemes. Killing three birds with one stone: Illumina wins Article 22 battle The ECJ wrote the epilogue to the Illumina/Grail saga, overturning the EC’s novel ‘Article 22’ approach. It is now clear that the EC cannot accept referral requests to review transactions that fall below the thresholds of national merger control regimes. Tom Verdonk co-edited ‘Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain’ Tom Verdonk has co-edited the book ‘Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain’, recently published by Larcier-Intersentia. Stibbe contributes to CFO Forum 2024 Marieke Driessen, Derk Lemstra and Rogier Raas participated in the CFO Forum - The Annual Meeting 2024, organised by our partner Transformation Forums, on 23 May 2024. You can read the insights of the meeting in the report. Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Next page
French supermarket dawn raids down the drain On 9 March 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the European Commission should properly record interviews if they are used to gather information regarding the subject matter of the investigation.
Abuse: an access request you can’t refuse? The European Court of Justice has confirmed that the essential facilities test is limited to ‘pure’ access cases. Infringement of a regulatory access obligation must be assessed under the general framework for abuse of dominance.
Competition law developments in 2022 While 2022 revolved around new and improved regulatory tools, the focus in 2023 will be on putting these tools to use. More merger-related obligations, digital sector scrutiny and clarity on competition-law and consumer-law aspects is imminent.
European Court of Human Rights rules in landmark case that governments must combat climate change The European Court of Human Rights rules that governments have an obligation to take effective measures to meet climate targets and combat the harmful effects of climate change.
Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens oordeelt in een landmark case dat overheden klimaatverandering moeten bestrijden Overheden zijn verplicht om effectieve maatregelen te treffen om klimaatdoelstellingen te behalen en de schadelijke gevolgen van klimaatverandering tegen te gaan, zo oordeelt het Europees Hof voor de Rechten van de Mens.
Settlement procedure and fine for vertical price fixing in Belgium The Belgian Competition Authority imposed a fine of €490,112 on Le Creuset for vertical price fixing (also known as resale price maintenance).
Actualiteiten Internationaal Maatschappelijk Verantwoord Ondernemen (IMVO) Op 14 december 2023 hebben de Europese wetgevingsorganen overeenstemming bereikt over de inhoud van de Europese Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”).
The Commission’s ‘killer’ pharma campaign: reason to complain? The European Commission is on the prowl in the pharma sector. Recent cases on alleged disparagement and pipeline drugs-killings show that it is not afraid to show its teeth and, ultimately, bite.
Digital antitrust conduct: too elusive to catch? The ink on the Digital Market Act has barely dried, but fast-evolving digital developments already have competition authorities calling for new tools. Is Big Tech not kept in check by the DMA, the antitrust rules and the EU Merger Regulation after all?
No impairment of the EC’s impartiality: ECJ upholds Scania judgment The ECJ upheld the Commission’s fine on Scania for participating in a cartel. The Commission’s impartiality is not necessarily impaired by having the Commission case team in charge of the settlement procedure also deal with the penalty decision.
Competition law in 2024: putting theory into practice 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.
Corporate social responsibility for Dutch companies: from B Corp to BVm Since to this date no specific legal form for the social enterprise exists in the Netherlands, companies are looking for other ways to demonstrate their commitment to CSR, for instance by aligning with private codes and labels.
Developments in DMA land: EU tags Big Tech as first Gatekeepers The European Commission has designated six Tech Giants (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft) as gatekeepers for 22 core platform services under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
ECJ calls the shots: CK Telecoms ruling sent back to General Court The ECJ overruled the General Court in its CK Telecoms ruling, taking the strict requirements that the GC placed on the Commission when reviewing mergers off the table. This will make it easier for competition authorities to intervene in merger cases.
Belgian watchdog tackles bid rigging In recent cases in the fire protection and private security sectors, the Belgian Competition Authority has made the prosecution of bid-rigging one of its top priorities, imposing hefty fines on infringers for their participation in cartel schemes.
Killing three birds with one stone: Illumina wins Article 22 battle The ECJ wrote the epilogue to the Illumina/Grail saga, overturning the EC’s novel ‘Article 22’ approach. It is now clear that the EC cannot accept referral requests to review transactions that fall below the thresholds of national merger control regimes.
Tom Verdonk co-edited ‘Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain’ Tom Verdonk has co-edited the book ‘Unfair Trading Practices in the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain’, recently published by Larcier-Intersentia.
Stibbe contributes to CFO Forum 2024 Marieke Driessen, Derk Lemstra and Rogier Raas participated in the CFO Forum - The Annual Meeting 2024, organised by our partner Transformation Forums, on 23 May 2024. You can read the insights of the meeting in the report.