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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.

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.

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.

Companies beware: completed non-notifiable concentrations do not necessarily go scot-free. An ex post abuse-of-dominance investigation by national competition authorities (NCA) could still loom.

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.

2023 marked the near finale of the European Commission’s overhaul of its competition policy, leaving only a few loose ends to tie up in 2024/2025. It is now time to watch theory be put into practice by the competition authorities and at the courts.

Earlier this year, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) entered into force to close a loophole in EU regulations aimed at creating a level playing field within the internal market.

On 14 July 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority confirmed its jurisdiction to review M&A transactions between hospitals, regardless of whether these hospitals belong to the same hospital network.

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?

While 2022 revolved around new and improved regulatory tools, the focus in 2023 will be on putting these tools to use. More merger-related obligations, digital sector scrutiny and clarity on competition-law and consumer-law aspects is imminent.

Dutch investment screening is rapidly expanding: since June, the proposal for a separate defence regime has been published and the intended expansion of the regime of the Vifo Act to include AI and biotech has been announced. Reason for a quick update!

While skimming through employees’ chat conversations and e-mails, it is not uncommon for competition authorities to stumble across other potential antitrust violations, separate from the initial scope of the search.

The European Court of Justice has confirmed that the essential facilities test is limited to ‘pure’ access cases. Infringement of a regulatory access obligation must be assessed under the general framework for abuse of dominance.

The Belgian screening mechanism for FDIs will enter into force on 1 July 2023. The mechanism is designed to safeguard Belgium's critical infrastructure and to protect sectors crucial to Belgium's public order, national security and strategic interests.

On 20 February 2025, the Belgian Supreme Court confirmed that under Belgian law an abuse of economic dependence may be found even in a situation where there is no contractual relationship between the companies involved.

Crystal ball gazing into prospective innovation rat races when assessing vertical mergers may soon be all in a day’s work for the European Commission. Innovation was a recurring theme in the Commission’s handling of the Illumina/Grail deal.

Dominant pharma companies had better watch their words and use the patent system wisely. Pharma company Teva was fined EUR 462.6 million for disparagement and ‘divisional gaming’ to delay market entry and hinder the uptake of a competing drug.

Patent settlement agreements between originator pharmaceutical companies and generics manufacturers are a risky business. Originator medicine company Servier and five generic companies rolled the dice and the ECJ largely confirmed their antitrust fines.