A blog about the intersection of antitrust, foreign investment control, politics, and everything in between
With the summer holidays having officially taken off, one of the peak business times of many industries has started as well. One of these industries is not only the centre of attention for many travellers, but also of many regulators: the airline industry. So, time for a ´seasonal´ topic – recent airline merger cases and … Continue reading Lessons to learn from airline mergers
When hearing the word ´fine´ in an antitrust context, one usually thinks of cartels. However, fines can also be imposed when infringing procedural obligations, e.g., in merger control proceedings. While fines for gun jumping are more prominent in merger control (see here), there is also a history of fines for not telling the truth (or … Continue reading Under the magnifying glass: Why telling the truth in merger control is so important
The fact that labour markets are currently in the focus of many antitrust regulators is a widespread secret in the antitrust community. Although the European Commission has not yet adopted a decision concerning self-standing labour market agreements, there are indications that the first decision is just around the corner. The latest indication: A Competition Policy … Continue reading It´s heating up: EC´s focus on labour markets
Competing at the Olympic Games is the hight of every professional athlete´s career. Using this event for self-marketing purposes would be the natural consequence. The International Olympic Committee sees this differently and is limiting the use of social media and other advertising options for participating athletes. The German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has stepped in … Continue reading Road to Paris: Federal Cartel Office strikes again
Last month, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) moved its proceeding concerning the German football league’s “50+1” rule to a different Decision Division. As a result, allegations of bias against the previous case handlers became redundant. A good opportunity to blog about bias in antitrust cases. An unbiased, neutral, and objective judge is one of … Continue reading An (un-)even playing field: Bias in antitrust cases
Six German authorities join forces to tackle the challenges of the digitalization era. Kickoff was last week, when the authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding to initiate the “Digital Cluster Bonn”. Who is in? The reason the new initiative came to my – and probably other antitrust nerd´s – attention is the membership of the … Continue reading Digital Cluster Bonn: Germany´s authorities team up
Rebates are common in many industries and generally highly appreciated by customers. However, it gets tricky if strong market players leverage their position to the detriment of customers or competitors, antitrust cases involving rebates are therefore a frequent phenomenon. Only last week, the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) announced that it has initiated proceedings against … Continue reading Rebates and antitrust: A never-ending story
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