The Informed Board Podcast | Will the EU’s Focus on Foreign Subsidies Make It More Difficult To Acquire European Businesses?
Nota Bene Episode 102: Examining European Union State Aid in the Face of COVID and Brexit with Jacques Derenne and Robert Klotz
This newsletter is a summary of the antitrust developments we think are most interesting to your business. Roxane Hicheri (counsel based in Paris) and Mark Steenson (counsel based in London) are our editors this month. They...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) allows the European Commission (EC) to investigate and remedy subsidies received from non-European countries that distort the EU internal market. As the FSR marks its inaugural year...more
Top EU Court Finds Booking.com’s Price Parity Clauses Not Ancillary to its Operation - If a main operation or activity is neutral or positive in its competitive effect and therefore falls outside EU competition law, then...more
For the first time, the European Commission has accepted commitments in a merger case reviewed under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. What can we learn from the Commission’s announcement to clear the deal? We set out...more
European Commission Provides Guidance on Foreign Subsidies Regulation - Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Commission (EC) has the power to investigate financial contributions granted by non-EU...more
Spotlight on below-threshold merger reviews: doubts over European Commission’s powers while in depth probes launched in Italy - Last month, we reported on the landmark Advocate General (AG) opinion in Illumina/GRAIL. The AG...more
Our Antitrust Team reviews how the European Commission is using the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and, for the first time, performed an in-depth investigation into whether the acquirer of a company with activities in the...more
The European Commission is inquiring into a United Arab Emirates-based company just months after its first investigations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation of various Chinese companies participating in EU tenders....more
On 9 April 2024, the European Commission launched its first ex-officio investigation under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation, targeting Chinese wind turbines in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria....more
Just months after its first investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation of Chinese train maker CRRC Corp. (see our LawFlash here), the European Commission has targeted two more companies participating in an EU...more
The first months of application of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) have involved a large number of notifications, lengthy and wide-ranging requests for information, and the opening of the first in-depth...more
EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation: 100 Days in and the First Detailed Investigation - The obligation to notify certain large M&A transactions to the European Commission for clearance under the EU Foreign Subsidies...more
The European Commission launched its first investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation against a Chinese company participating in an EU tender. On February 16, 2024, the European Commission (EC) launched its first...more
This regular alert covers key regulatory developments related to EU emergency responses, including in particular to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, COVID-19, and cyber threats. It does not purport to provide an...more
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION PUBLISHES FINAL IMPLEMENTING REGULATION ON PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO THE FOREIGN SUBSIDIES REGULATION - On July 10, 2023, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its final regulation for...more
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) establishes a new regime, enforced by the European Commission (EC), to regulate subsidies granted by non-EU countries to businesses active in the EU that could distort competition in EU...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) gives the European Commission (EC) broad powers to control subsidies from non-EU countries, complementing the EU’s longstanding state aid regime that deals with subsidies from EU...more
As of October 12, 2023, notification obligations under the European Union’s (EU’s) groundbreaking Foreign Subsidies Regulation No. 2022/2560 (FSR) have started to apply, with wide-ranging implications for businesses operating...more
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) was adopted in late 2022. Its stated aim is to combat the effects of competitive distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the EU internal market and thereby level the playing...more
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), the European Union’s new screening tool for third-country subsidies, introduces a novel and additional layer of scrutiny in public procurement. Companies that take part in sizeable...more
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION - The Court of Justice Overturns the General Court’s Judgment Annulling the European Commission’s Prohibition Decision in the Telecom Sector - On 13 July 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) set...more
On 29 June 2023, the EU’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), handed down an important judgment on the treatment under EU competition law of a supplier fixing the minimum resale prices its...more
The European Union’s new screening tool for third-country subsidies introduces a novel form of mergers & acquisitions scrutiny. Companies worldwide need to account for timing and execution risks arising from this system when...more
The EU’s new regime for tackling foreign subsidies will kick in on 12 July 2023. On 10 July 2023, the European Commission (Commission) published the final text of the Implementing Regulation (Final IR) on proceedings...more
On 10 July 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted its long awaited Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) implementing rules (the “Implementing Regulation”). The Implementing Regulation lays down, inter alia, the timings and...more