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On 20 June 2025, the Dutch Supreme Court referred questions to the CJEU in an antitrust damages case on trucks manufacturing. This blog explores the events leading to this pivotal moment and the key questions posed.

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.

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!

After 16 years of court battle, the Brussels Court of Appeal has rejected the EU’s EUR 12 million (+ interest) damage claim against the four lift producers that participated in the lift cartel fined in 2007.

Employers beware: the European Commission is strengthening its actions against anticompetitive practices in labour markets. In its recent Competition Policy Brief it takes a tough stance. Companies are well-advised to review their employment practices.

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.

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'.

Big Tech faces challenges when denying third parties access to its open platforms. The European Court of Justice has ruled that a dominant company’s refusal to make its open platform compatible with a third-party app may be abusive.

On June 28, 2023, the European Commission published a set of new legislative proposals, including PSD3, aimed at ushering in the digital era for payments and the broader financial sector, with a particular focus on consumers.

The AEC test has likely assumed mythic status at the European Commission with the EU courts striking down its AEC analysis for a third time. Nevertheless, the Commission seems on the right track to tackling abuse of dominance in the digital sector.

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 Court of Appeal of 's-Hertogenbosch ruled that several producers of prestressing steel are jointly and severally liable for potential loss that Deutsche Bahn may have suffered as a result of an infringement of competition law rules.

The Dutch Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions Security Screening Act (Wet veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames – Vifo Act) entered into force on 1 June 2023.

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.

M&A transactions falling below the merger notification thresholds are not necessarily exempt from scrutiny. Companies should therefore carefully assess the potential competitive impact of their transactions, as the ACM has proven to be vigilant.

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.

A potential major overhaul of EU merger control review began on 8 May 2025. Time for stakeholders to speak up about whether and particularly how the European Commission should incorporate wider strategic or societal objectives into its merger assessments.

The countdown is on for digital giants. The entry into force of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on 1 November 2022 triggered a to do list for potential gatekeepers with 2 May 2023 as the next key date to keep in mind: see our DMA infographic.