144 results Court of Appeal overturns first instance judgment and establishes that several prestressing steel producers are liable for the potential loss alleged by Deutsche Bahn 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. Ready, set, go! The Dutch national security screening FDI regime takes off The Dutch Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions Security Screening Act (Wet veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames – Vifo Act) entered into force on 1 June 2023. Taking initiative: ACM catches transaction ahead of new powers 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. 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. EU merger guidelines review: catching up with the times? 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. Digital Markets Act: “with great power must come great responsibility” 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 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. ECJ in Towercast: plan C for tackling concentrations? 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. Foreign investment developments in 2022 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. Competition law in 2024: putting theory into practice 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. Belgian Competition Authority confirms jurisdiction for M&A transactions in hospital sector 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. 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? Competition law developments in 2022 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. Get ready for more action! Dutch investment screening continues to evolve 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! Court rules ACM can use accidental evidence found in dawn raids 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 era of FDI screenings kicks off in Belgium 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. The long and (un)winding road of ‘killer acquisition’ Illumina/Grail 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. Pagination Previous page Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Current page 8
Court of Appeal overturns first instance judgment and establishes that several prestressing steel producers are liable for the potential loss alleged by Deutsche Bahn 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.
Ready, set, go! The Dutch national security screening FDI regime takes off The Dutch Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions Security Screening Act (Wet veiligheidstoets investeringen, fusies en overnames – Vifo Act) entered into force on 1 June 2023.
Taking initiative: ACM catches transaction ahead of new powers 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.
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.
EU merger guidelines review: catching up with the times? 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.
Digital Markets Act: “with great power must come great responsibility” 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 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.
ECJ in Towercast: plan C for tackling concentrations? 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.
Foreign investment developments in 2022 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.
Competition law in 2024: putting theory into practice 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.
Belgian Competition Authority confirms jurisdiction for M&A transactions in hospital sector 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.
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?
Competition law developments in 2022 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.
Get ready for more action! Dutch investment screening continues to evolve 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!
Court rules ACM can use accidental evidence found in dawn raids 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 era of FDI screenings kicks off in Belgium 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.
The long and (un)winding road of ‘killer acquisition’ Illumina/Grail 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.