22 results Colour shifting risks: cartel fines for alleged indirect info exchange upheld National courts upheld the approach by two national competition authorities towards indirect information exchange, lowering the standard of proof for collusion by competitors when receiving competitively sensitive information from a buyer (or supplier). Digital Law Up(to)date: (1) Parliamentary initiatives about cyber attacks; (2) ‘Zero tariff’ options before the CJEU; and (3) Council of State, GDPR and encryption In this blog, we briefly present three interesting matters in the field of digital law: (1) Parliamentary initiatives to tackle cyber attacks; (2) 'Zero tariff' options and open internet access do not mix; (3) Council of State, GDPR and encryption. Legalisatie van cannabisproducten in het ene EU land zet de deur op een kier voor legalisatie in ander land, aldus Franse rechter De hoogste Franse rechter gaat mee in een recente uitspraak van het Hof van Justitie EU, waarmee zij de deur op een kier zet voor legalisatie van cannabisproducten, en laat zien dat EU landen niet zomaar cannabisproducten kunnen blijven weren. The honeymoon phase of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation is over! Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. The industry voices have been clear about the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. But what is the authority’s view? We provide an update on recent developments, including the European Commission’s first policy brief. The vertical fight continues: two more cases on vertical restraints Companies should not take competition rules lightly in their supply relationships. The EU General Court's Valve judgment and the ACM's LG decision illustrate the consistent attention to vertical restraints. Stibbe Brussels reinforces Public Law and EU/Competition Law practices with two Counsel appointments Stibbe Brussels has promoted Sophie Adriaenssen to Counsel in its Public Law practice group and has welcomed Quentin Declève as Counsel in its EU/Competition Law practice. The appointments are effective as per 1 January 2023. Stibbe Brussel versterkt praktijken Publiekrecht en EU/Competition met twee counselbenoemingen Stibbe Brussel heeft Sophie Adriaenssen benoemd tot Counsel in zijn praktijkgroep Publiekrecht. Het kantoor heeft daarnaast Quentin Declève verwelkomd als Counsel in zijn praktijkgroep EU/Competition. De nieuwe benoemingen gelden vanaf 1 januari 2023. Stibbe Bruxelles renforce ses pratiques en droit public et en droit de l'UE/de la concurrence par la nomination de deux Counsel Le bureau bruxellois de Stibbe a nommé Sophie Adriaenssen en tant que Counsel au sein de sa pratique de droit public. Le cabinet a également accueilli Quentin Declève en tant que Counsel au sein de sa pratique de droit de l'UE/de la concurrence. 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. 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. 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). First trip around the sun: FSR – one year in review The Foreign Subsidies Regulation has celebrated one year of its application. Time for companies to take stock of the lessons learnt from key developments of this first year. However, ambiguities remain and more is yet to come. Watch this space! The Foreign Subsidies Regulation’s initial focus on China Although the text of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation is not aimed at specific countries, the European Commission’s initial enforcement actions appear to be targeting Chinese subsidies. 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. Shaping the Future: The Belgian Competition Authority’s 2025 Roadmap 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. 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? First application of Towercast in Belgium and merger filing exemption for certain hospital merger The Belgian Competition Authority has applied the Towercast case law in a first case in Belgium. It could possibly try do so again for certain hospital mergers that the legislator has recently exempted from merger filing in Belgium. On repeat but louder: the ACM’s 2024 priorities On 23 January 2024, the ACM announced its priorities for 2024. The energy transition, the digital economy and sustainability are still on the ACM’s priority list, but now with better-equipped enforcement methods available. Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Next page
Colour shifting risks: cartel fines for alleged indirect info exchange upheld National courts upheld the approach by two national competition authorities towards indirect information exchange, lowering the standard of proof for collusion by competitors when receiving competitively sensitive information from a buyer (or supplier).
Digital Law Up(to)date: (1) Parliamentary initiatives about cyber attacks; (2) ‘Zero tariff’ options before the CJEU; and (3) Council of State, GDPR and encryption In this blog, we briefly present three interesting matters in the field of digital law: (1) Parliamentary initiatives to tackle cyber attacks; (2) 'Zero tariff' options and open internet access do not mix; (3) Council of State, GDPR and encryption.
Legalisatie van cannabisproducten in het ene EU land zet de deur op een kier voor legalisatie in ander land, aldus Franse rechter De hoogste Franse rechter gaat mee in een recente uitspraak van het Hof van Justitie EU, waarmee zij de deur op een kier zet voor legalisatie van cannabisproducten, en laat zien dat EU landen niet zomaar cannabisproducten kunnen blijven weren.
The honeymoon phase of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation is over! Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. The industry voices have been clear about the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. But what is the authority’s view? We provide an update on recent developments, including the European Commission’s first policy brief.
The vertical fight continues: two more cases on vertical restraints Companies should not take competition rules lightly in their supply relationships. The EU General Court's Valve judgment and the ACM's LG decision illustrate the consistent attention to vertical restraints.
Stibbe Brussels reinforces Public Law and EU/Competition Law practices with two Counsel appointments Stibbe Brussels has promoted Sophie Adriaenssen to Counsel in its Public Law practice group and has welcomed Quentin Declève as Counsel in its EU/Competition Law practice. The appointments are effective as per 1 January 2023.
Stibbe Brussel versterkt praktijken Publiekrecht en EU/Competition met twee counselbenoemingen Stibbe Brussel heeft Sophie Adriaenssen benoemd tot Counsel in zijn praktijkgroep Publiekrecht. Het kantoor heeft daarnaast Quentin Declève verwelkomd als Counsel in zijn praktijkgroep EU/Competition. De nieuwe benoemingen gelden vanaf 1 januari 2023.
Stibbe Bruxelles renforce ses pratiques en droit public et en droit de l'UE/de la concurrence par la nomination de deux Counsel Le bureau bruxellois de Stibbe a nommé Sophie Adriaenssen en tant que Counsel au sein de sa pratique de droit public. Le cabinet a également accueilli Quentin Declève en tant que Counsel au sein de sa pratique de droit de l'UE/de la concurrence.
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.
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.
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).
First trip around the sun: FSR – one year in review The Foreign Subsidies Regulation has celebrated one year of its application. Time for companies to take stock of the lessons learnt from key developments of this first year. However, ambiguities remain and more is yet to come. Watch this space!
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation’s initial focus on China Although the text of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation is not aimed at specific countries, the European Commission’s initial enforcement actions appear to be targeting Chinese subsidies.
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.
Shaping the Future: The Belgian Competition Authority’s 2025 Roadmap 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.
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?
First application of Towercast in Belgium and merger filing exemption for certain hospital merger The Belgian Competition Authority has applied the Towercast case law in a first case in Belgium. It could possibly try do so again for certain hospital mergers that the legislator has recently exempted from merger filing in Belgium.
On repeat but louder: the ACM’s 2024 priorities On 23 January 2024, the ACM announced its priorities for 2024. The energy transition, the digital economy and sustainability are still on the ACM’s priority list, but now with better-equipped enforcement methods available.