It’s all change at the European Commission.
Teresa Ribera has taken over the stewardship of DG COMP from Margrethe Vestager, alongside a wider brief including environmental and social policy that could conflict with...more
The new European Commission, under Ursula von der Leyen for a second term, kicked off on 1 December 2024. Teresa Ribera is the new head of European Competition Policy....more
Whilst not traditionally a focus of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”), the UK’s labour markets now form one of the CMA’s strategic priorities, as outlined in its 2023 to 2024 Annual Plan....more
2/16/2024
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Cartels ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Investigations ,
Information Reports ,
Member State ,
New Guidance ,
No-Poaching ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proposed Rules ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage-Fixing
2024 is shaping up to be a year of significant change in Brussels. European Parliamentary elections in June will be followed by the appointment of a new Commission in the autumn....more
1/29/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
EUMR ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Jurisdiction ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Online Travel Vendors ,
Sustainability
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published its long-awaited draft guidance on sustainability agreements between competitors (the “Draft Guidance”). In doing so, it acknowledges that collaborations...more
As we enter 2023, the European Commission is redoubling its efforts to scrutinise transactions on a variety of bases. The focus has been on the digital sector for some time, but the impact of the Commission’s expanding...more
1/19/2023
/ Abuse of Dominance ,
Acquisitions ,
Competition ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Digital Markets Strategy ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The Digital Markets Act (DMA), introduces stricter rules for ‘big tech’ in the EU and comes into force today, November 1 2022. The DMA forms part of the European Commission’s new package of legislation governing conduct in...more
The European Commission (“EC”) is consulting on new rules for collaborations between competitors by inviting comments on two draft Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations on Specialisation and R&D (“HBERs”) and accompanying...more
2022 is shaping up to be another year of significant merger control and foreign direct investment (“FDI”) developments. The use of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”) might jeopardise the European Commission’s...more
1/25/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Competition Act ,
Competition Authorities ,
Digital Marketplace ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Welcome to this first edition of BCLP’S Competition Collective: Antitrust, Foreign Investment and Trade Insights from around the world. This period was marked by uncertainty – and the harsh realities of the pandemic for many...more
5/27/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Biden Administration ,
Cartels ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Digital Services ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Sports ,
Technology Sector ,
Trade Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
The European Commission’s June 2020 White Paper outlined its initial plans for a subsidies regime. The Commission has now developed these plans in its proposals for a new regulation....more
In 2020, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced a new policy, under which the Commission will entertain requests from Member States to review mergers that do not meet the notification thresholds for...more
On 15 December 2020, the European Commission released two much anticipated proposals for new regulations governing conduct in the digital space – the Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) and the Digital Services Act (“DSA”).
These...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a difficult year for many companies looking to do deals. Competition agencies and other government regulators have in many cases slowed down their timeframes or even refused to accept...more
BCLP’s global Antitrust & Competition team have been tracking the various ways COVID-19 is impacting antitrust enforcement, merger control, state aid and foreign direct investment rules ("FDI") in key jurisdictions around the...more
For almost as long as EU merger control has existed, scholars and practitioners have discussed and debated the European Commission’s (EC) split roles as investigator, prosecutor, judge, and jury under the EU Merger Regulation...more
BCLP’s global Antitrust & Competition team have been tracking the various ways COVID-19 is impacting antitrust enforcement, merger control, state aid and foreign direct investment rules ("FDI") in key jurisdictions around the...more
7/6/2020
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Aid
BCLP’s global Antitrust & Competition team have been tracking the various ways COVID-19 is impacting antitrust enforcement, merger control, state aid and foreign direct investment rules ("FDI") in key jurisdictions around the...more
BCLP’s global Antitrust & Competition team have been tracking the various ways COVID-19 is impacting antitrust enforcement, merger control, state aid and foreign direct investment rules ("FDI") in key jurisdictions around the...more
On 17 April, the Competition and Markets Authority provisionally cleared Amazon’s acquisition of a minority shareholding and certain other rights in Deliveroo. This provisional decision highlights how the so-called “exiting...more
4/23/2020
/ Amazon ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Downturn ,
Investigations ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Merger Control & Foreign Investment -
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, competition agencies across the globe have been required to adjust their work patterns and re-allocate resources to the most urgent aspects of...more
The global COVID-19 pandemic is placing an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems around the world. At the same time, the knock on effects of the pandemic are hitting businesses and public authorities hard....more
The dawn of a new year provides a great opportunity to take stock of where EU merger control might go in the next year. In this blog, we outline what we consider to be five key trends to watch out for in EU merger control in...more
1/8/2020
/ Big Data ,
Canon ,
Competition Act ,
Consultation ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
General Electric ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Technology Sector ,
Toshiba ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
Ursula von der Leyen’s Commission has been confirmed by the European Parliament. President von der Leyen has entrusted Margrethe Vestager with promoting Europe’s digital economy while continuing for a rare second-term as...more
The European Parliament blocked the appointment of three of President-elect Ursula von Der Leyen’s Commissioners-designate, causing a delayed start for her Commission. While rejections and delay are not unusual, the...more