64 results Court bundles educational publishers merger off to ACM for reassessment Digital mergers have steered competition authorities away from their usual mantra of structural over behavioural remedies. The Rotterdam District Court recently gave its blessing to the ACM’s remedies for securing access to a digital school platform. Game over? Gaming companies fined for geo-blocking The Commission’s cross-border sales crusade seems far from over. The EUR 7.8 million fine imposed on distribution platform owner Valve and five PC video games publishers for geo-blocking practices is the most recent notch in the Commission’s belt. Sustainability solutions sussed out soon 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. Employers beware: final warning for “job cartels” 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. Pfizer may be off the hook, but ACM pharma supervision continues Pharma companies beware: discount schemes by former patent owners raise red flags at competition authorities. Second time lucky: Intel’s EUR 1.06 billion loyalty rebate fine quashed Intel’s second round at the General Court was significantly more successful than its first. In the first round, the General Court had failed to analyse whether the loyalty rebates at issue were capable of restricting competition. In the second round, afte Are you ready for the new Dutch and EU transactional hurdles? Companies beware: new Dutch and EU transactional hurdles are coming closer. In the Netherlands, new national security investment screening rules are imminent. Navigating access refusals after the ECJ’s Google Android Auto-ruling 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. Impact of Belgium’s Government Agreement on the Future of Competition Law On 31 January 2025, Belgium's Government Agreement for 2025-2029 was published, focusing on strengthening competition, safeguarding tech expertise, and increasing subsidy transparency. However, more steps are needed to define practical implementation. C'est le ton qui fait la musique – The end of employer copyrights? The CJEU decision in the National Orchestra of Belgium decision shakes up employer copyright in the Netherlands. With new consent and compensation requirements, are your employment contracts still airtight? Discover the implications of the decision here. 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. Commission reveals first piece of antitrust sustainability puzzle The European Commission has published a Policy Brief setting out its preliminary views on how to fit the European Green Deal’s sustainability goals into the EU competition rules. Mondelēz’s fine takes the biscuit: cross-border trade crusade peaks The European Commission has fined Mondelēz EUR 337.5 million for restricting cross-border trade. Brand owners are advised to double-check their licensing and distribution systems, as well as their commercial conduct, for possible territorial restraints. Game over for dark patterns? ACM fines Epic for unfairly targeting children The ACM has fined Epic Games for exploiting children’s psychological vulnerabilities, marking a key moment for Dutch consumer law enforcement. Our briefing examines the broader implications for consumer-facing businesses, especially those in online sales. 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. Google Shopping: self-preferencing can be abusive The European Court of Justice has confirmed that Google abused its dominance by favouring its own shopping comparison service and demoting competing ones. However, not all favouritism is doomed. 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. 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. Pagination Previous page Page 1 Current page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Next page
Court bundles educational publishers merger off to ACM for reassessment Digital mergers have steered competition authorities away from their usual mantra of structural over behavioural remedies. The Rotterdam District Court recently gave its blessing to the ACM’s remedies for securing access to a digital school platform.
Game over? Gaming companies fined for geo-blocking The Commission’s cross-border sales crusade seems far from over. The EUR 7.8 million fine imposed on distribution platform owner Valve and five PC video games publishers for geo-blocking practices is the most recent notch in the Commission’s belt.
Sustainability solutions sussed out soon 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.
Employers beware: final warning for “job cartels” 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.
Pfizer may be off the hook, but ACM pharma supervision continues Pharma companies beware: discount schemes by former patent owners raise red flags at competition authorities.
Second time lucky: Intel’s EUR 1.06 billion loyalty rebate fine quashed Intel’s second round at the General Court was significantly more successful than its first. In the first round, the General Court had failed to analyse whether the loyalty rebates at issue were capable of restricting competition. In the second round, afte
Are you ready for the new Dutch and EU transactional hurdles? Companies beware: new Dutch and EU transactional hurdles are coming closer. In the Netherlands, new national security investment screening rules are imminent.
Navigating access refusals after the ECJ’s Google Android Auto-ruling 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.
Impact of Belgium’s Government Agreement on the Future of Competition Law On 31 January 2025, Belgium's Government Agreement for 2025-2029 was published, focusing on strengthening competition, safeguarding tech expertise, and increasing subsidy transparency. However, more steps are needed to define practical implementation.
C'est le ton qui fait la musique – The end of employer copyrights? The CJEU decision in the National Orchestra of Belgium decision shakes up employer copyright in the Netherlands. With new consent and compensation requirements, are your employment contracts still airtight? Discover the implications of the decision here.
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.
Commission reveals first piece of antitrust sustainability puzzle The European Commission has published a Policy Brief setting out its preliminary views on how to fit the European Green Deal’s sustainability goals into the EU competition rules.
Mondelēz’s fine takes the biscuit: cross-border trade crusade peaks The European Commission has fined Mondelēz EUR 337.5 million for restricting cross-border trade. Brand owners are advised to double-check their licensing and distribution systems, as well as their commercial conduct, for possible territorial restraints.
Game over for dark patterns? ACM fines Epic for unfairly targeting children The ACM has fined Epic Games for exploiting children’s psychological vulnerabilities, marking a key moment for Dutch consumer law enforcement. Our briefing examines the broader implications for consumer-facing businesses, especially those in online sales.
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.
Google Shopping: self-preferencing can be abusive The European Court of Justice has confirmed that Google abused its dominance by favouring its own shopping comparison service and demoting competing ones. However, not all favouritism is doomed.
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.
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.