Cartels

On 17 June 2025, The Court of Appeal of 's-Hertogenbosch rendered a judgment in antitrust follow-on damages litigation concerning the cathode-ray tube markets, ruling on – amongst other things – the commencement of the limitation.

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.

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.

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?

Contrary to the Amsterdam District Court’s judgment, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal granted Stichting Elco Foundation standing in a collective action against several banks and brokers based on alleged manipulation of interest rate benchmarks.

In a judgment of 23 January 2024 (case no. 200.304.621 and 200.304.673), the Court of Appeal ruled that elevator manufacturer Kone can be held liable for damages alleged by 23 parties that combined their claims in a litigation vehicle.

The Belgian Competition Authority imposed a fine of €490,112 on Le Creuset for vertical price fixing (also known as resale price maintenance).

Following the EC’s Horizontal Guidelines, the ACM and CMA have also published updated guidance on sustainability agreements. The approaches adopted by the three authorities are largely similar, but leave room for divergent assessments in some respects.

On 23 October 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (the BCA) concluded its first hybrid cartel proceedings by imposing a fine of EUR 778.777 on CERP SA (CERP) for participating in anticompetitive practices in the pharmaceutical distribution sector.

Companies should not take competition rules lightly in their supply relationships. The EU General Court's Valve judgment and the ACM's LG decision illustrate the consistent attention to vertical restraints.

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.