53 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. Europese Commissie herziet en verruimt een belangrijk staatssteunkader: consultatie wijzigingen AGVV geopend tot 8 december 2021 De Europese Commissie zet in op meer staatssteun voor innovatieve ondernemingen en duurzaamheid. Dit blijkt uit de voorgestelde wijziging van de Algemene groepsvrijstellingsverordening waarover tot 8 december a.s. een consultatie loopt. Highest Dutch Court: ACM has not proved dominance of Dutch railway operator NS A high market share is not always proof of a dominant position. The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb) upheld the annulment of the ACM’s fine of nearly EUR 41 million on Dutch railway operator NS for alleged abuse of dominance. Slovak Telekom: ECJ on essentials of the ‘essential facilities’ doctrine Only dominant companies with a “genuinely tight grip” on the market can be forced to grant rivals access to their infrastructure. ACM issues first excessive pricing fine in pharma 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. Game on for gatekeepers: Digital Markets Act finalised Now that political agreement has been reached on the final text, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will enter into force soon. The DMA’s ex ante rules and obligations will apply next to the ad hoc EU and national competition rules. Stibbe Amsterdam appoints three new partners We are pleased to announce that Stibbe Amsterdam has promoted Roos Elemans, Lotte Hover-Boon and Daisy Nijkamp to partner effective 1 January 2025. These appointments will further strengthen our EU and Competition Law, Tax and Litigation practices. 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. If you can’t stand the heat: kitchen retailers fined for misleading consumers There is a new enforcement trend in the Netherlands; consumer protection is shifting from private enforcement before the civil courts, to public enforcement through the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). Waiting for the EC: third-party platform bans and RPM still on radar The results of the European Commission’s evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) call for more clarity and convergence in the interpretation of certain (online) vertical restrictions. The next 5 years: European Commission launches New Consumer Agenda Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission is already looking ahead to set its consumer protection priorities for the next five years. On the right track? GC sends mixed messages with Lithuanian Railways The essential facilities doctrine imposes on holders of indispensable facilities a duty to deal with their competitors. Jurisdictional hide & seek: merger thresholds and buyer joint ventures Companies beware: the turnover of a joint venture buying a target is not necessarily decisive for determining whether the EU merger thresholds are met. COVID-19 impacts level and payment of antitrust fines As well as granting companies leeway on certain COVID-19 initiated collaborations (see our May 2020 newsletter), the coronavirus outbreak has also led competition authorities to take a more lenient stance towards fine calculations and payments. Prove it or lose it: court sets aside ACM fines in two separate cases The Rotterdam District Court recently confirmed the high bar which has been set for the ACM when proving its case: the court annulled the fines imposed by the ACM in two different cases and, significantly, each for the same reason. No parking! Canon fined EUR 28 million for warehousing transaction structure The European Commission has landed a third strike against gun-jumping, the prohibition to implement a transaction before notification to and clearance by the Commission. Successful challenges to merger decisions seem to be the exception The General Court recently confirmed the high degree of discretion enjoyed by the European Commission in the context of merger control decisions, particularly with respect to assessments of an economic nature. Low prices, high fines: Commission's creative purchase cartel fine upheld Companies should take note that the European Commission will deviate from its own general fining methodology if a particular case calls for it. The General Court recently upheld the Commission's novel fining approach in regard of a purchase cartel. Pagination Current page 1 Page 2 Page 3 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.
Europese Commissie herziet en verruimt een belangrijk staatssteunkader: consultatie wijzigingen AGVV geopend tot 8 december 2021 De Europese Commissie zet in op meer staatssteun voor innovatieve ondernemingen en duurzaamheid. Dit blijkt uit de voorgestelde wijziging van de Algemene groepsvrijstellingsverordening waarover tot 8 december a.s. een consultatie loopt.
Highest Dutch Court: ACM has not proved dominance of Dutch railway operator NS A high market share is not always proof of a dominant position. The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBb) upheld the annulment of the ACM’s fine of nearly EUR 41 million on Dutch railway operator NS for alleged abuse of dominance.
Slovak Telekom: ECJ on essentials of the ‘essential facilities’ doctrine Only dominant companies with a “genuinely tight grip” on the market can be forced to grant rivals access to their infrastructure.
ACM issues first excessive pricing fine in pharma 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.
Game on for gatekeepers: Digital Markets Act finalised Now that political agreement has been reached on the final text, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) will enter into force soon. The DMA’s ex ante rules and obligations will apply next to the ad hoc EU and national competition rules.
Stibbe Amsterdam appoints three new partners We are pleased to announce that Stibbe Amsterdam has promoted Roos Elemans, Lotte Hover-Boon and Daisy Nijkamp to partner effective 1 January 2025. These appointments will further strengthen our EU and Competition Law, Tax and Litigation practices.
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.
If you can’t stand the heat: kitchen retailers fined for misleading consumers There is a new enforcement trend in the Netherlands; consumer protection is shifting from private enforcement before the civil courts, to public enforcement through the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).
Waiting for the EC: third-party platform bans and RPM still on radar The results of the European Commission’s evaluation of the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) call for more clarity and convergence in the interpretation of certain (online) vertical restrictions.
The next 5 years: European Commission launches New Consumer Agenda Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission is already looking ahead to set its consumer protection priorities for the next five years.
On the right track? GC sends mixed messages with Lithuanian Railways The essential facilities doctrine imposes on holders of indispensable facilities a duty to deal with their competitors.
Jurisdictional hide & seek: merger thresholds and buyer joint ventures Companies beware: the turnover of a joint venture buying a target is not necessarily decisive for determining whether the EU merger thresholds are met.
COVID-19 impacts level and payment of antitrust fines As well as granting companies leeway on certain COVID-19 initiated collaborations (see our May 2020 newsletter), the coronavirus outbreak has also led competition authorities to take a more lenient stance towards fine calculations and payments.
Prove it or lose it: court sets aside ACM fines in two separate cases The Rotterdam District Court recently confirmed the high bar which has been set for the ACM when proving its case: the court annulled the fines imposed by the ACM in two different cases and, significantly, each for the same reason.
No parking! Canon fined EUR 28 million for warehousing transaction structure The European Commission has landed a third strike against gun-jumping, the prohibition to implement a transaction before notification to and clearance by the Commission.
Successful challenges to merger decisions seem to be the exception The General Court recently confirmed the high degree of discretion enjoyed by the European Commission in the context of merger control decisions, particularly with respect to assessments of an economic nature.
Low prices, high fines: Commission's creative purchase cartel fine upheld Companies should take note that the European Commission will deviate from its own general fining methodology if a particular case calls for it. The General Court recently upheld the Commission's novel fining approach in regard of a purchase cartel.