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In 2022, the ACM and the European Commission put the spotlight on the accuracy of companies’ sustainability claims. Notably, the ACM published several market studies and adopted commitment decisions concerning allegedly misleading sustainability claims.

2022 marks the second year of the EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Regulation, and the year in which legislators haven been busy shaping the Dutch national security screening regime and the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

The clock is ticking for companies to set the record straight on resale price maintenance (RPM). Retailers must be able to determine their own retail prices without any direct or indirect meddling by suppliers.

The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) informally accepted a commitment agreed by the partners of the Belgian Agro Food Chain Platform, limiting the possibility to contractually exclude the theory of change of circumstances.

Where is the line between openness and protectionism in the European single market? At both EU and national level, more and more protective barriers against foreign investors and acquirers have been created in the international competition.

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.

Only dominant companies with a “genuinely tight grip” on the market can be forced to grant rivals access to their infrastructure.

On 25 March 2021, the ECJ ended the Lundbeck pay-for-delay saga by dismissing the appeals from Lundbeck and five generic manufacturers against a European Commission ‘pay-for-delay’ decision.

The ACM’s list of 2021 focus areas is out. Whereas the digital economy and the energy transition are repeats from last year, the effects of the COVID-19 crisis is a new, although somewhat unsurprising, designated focal point.

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.

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.

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

Companies involved in multi-step acquisitions should beware of potential gun-jumping risks. The ACM has fined a trade association for failing to notify the acquisition of four pharmacies involving a consecutive partial resale.

More antitrust clarity has arrived for companies involved in sustainability collaborations. The EC published draft revised rules on horizontal cooperation agreements and the ACM informally approved two green initiatives in the energy sector.

Only months after suspending an investigation into a possible wage-fixing cartel, the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has warned employers, employers’ organisations, and trade associations to not engage in no-poach agreements. 

Pharma companies beware: discount schemes by former patent owners raise red flags at competition authorities.

By decision of 7 January 2022, the Belgian Competition Authority approved the merger between the Port of Antwerp and the Port of Zeebrugge. This merger deals with two important ports in Europe, in particular in the Hamburg – Le Havre range.