EU General Court rules on Illumina/Grail: The EU Commission may call in transactions

It is an absolute landmark case: Today, the EU’s General Court has ruled on Illumina v Commission. The case concerns the question whether the EU Commission may conduct merger control reviews of transactions that neither reach the merger thresholds of the Commission nor of Member States. The General Court has confirmed that the Commission indeed … Continue reading EU General Court rules on Illumina/Grail: The EU Commission may call in transactions →

The next big thing in merger control: Labour markets?

Labour markets have been a “trending” antitrust topic for a while (see, e.g., here). And for our readers in the US, and even more so in South Africa, linking labour markets to merger control might not be so new, after all. But if one listens closely in Europe, the effects of M&A deals on labour … Continue reading The next big thing in merger control: Labour markets? →

A foul as an abuse of market power?

One of the 10 commandments that not only Christians will know is: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. All Most of us have already learned this basic rule of human behaviour in kindergarten regardless of whether and to which faith they belong(ed). Last week, the European Commission opened a formal investigation into … Continue reading A foul as an abuse of market power? →

Antitrust is not at the disposal of the customer – a ground-breaking case

When conducting antitrust compliance trainings or otherwise advising businesses on antitrust compliance, now and then one hears “but the customers want it that way” as a justification for conduct that could raise antitrust issues. A typical response might begin with “That is appreciated, but unfortunately antitrust law is not at the disposal of the customer…” … Continue reading Antitrust is not at the disposal of the customer – a ground-breaking case →

Novel or unresolved – The Commission’s draft informal guidance notice

A bit overshadowed by other big legislative processes (we know what we are talking about), the Commission has also been actively updating its notices currently not so much in the focus of the public eye. Having made some progress on the simplified procedure in merger control cases already, the Commission recently presented an updated draft … Continue reading Novel or unresolved – The Commission’s draft informal guidance notice →

The X-Files: No science fiction at all

Some of our older readers might recall the TV show “The X-Files”, in which the two FBI agents Scully and Mulder deal with unsolved cases called the X-Files. These cases always had a kind of mystical touch. Not mystical at all is the GAIA-X initiative, in which governments and companies work to design the next … Continue reading The X-Files: No science fiction at all →

An overview of parity obligations

For years, parity obligations, also called “most favoured nation clauses” or “MFNs”, were hotly debated. There was a policy element to how different regulators treated MFNs, and not least because the European Commission decided to leave enforcement to national regulators, rules across the EU differed (in particular regarding online platforms). The new Vertical Block Exemption … Continue reading An overview of parity obligations →

The Vertical Block Exemption – how we got where we are

On 10 May 2022, the European Commission published its new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER), which will enter into force in June. Many have published very good summaries on the rules. Some also welcomed the very late changes that were made with regard to information exchange in the context of dual distribution. In this post, … Continue reading The Vertical Block Exemption – how we got where we are →

A history of challenging big tech – Part II: CPUs & Rebates

A month ago, we started our new series about the history of challenging big tech with a post on Microsoft’s interoperability and Media Player case. Since we cover the cases in this series by their start date rather than their end date, today we report on a case that has not ended yet but began … Continue reading A history of challenging big tech – Part II: CPUs & Rebates →

EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: State of Play

The process for introducing new EU rules on companies that receive foreign subsidies has really sped up. EU lawmakers are now in so-called “trilogue” discussions meant to finalise the “Foreign Subsidies Regulation” still this year. The regulation will affect companies in M&A transactions and in public procurement bids, and will basically introduce yet another review … Continue reading EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: State of Play →