At the end of 2020, the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), which both parties then ratified in 2021. As to antitrust cooperation, the agreement emphasized...more
11/14/2024
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Competition Authorities ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
OECD ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trade Relations ,
UK ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)
In a landmark decision, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has limited the European Commission’s (EC) ability to review mergers that fall outside thresholds at the EC level and in the Member States seeking to refer the...more
9/6/2024
/ Competition Authorities ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Jurisdictional Thresholds ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Merger Reviews ,
Mergers ,
Threshold Requirements
On February 8, 2024, the European Commission (Commission) adopted its revised Market Definition Notice (Notice), replacing a version that was nearly 30 years old. The Notice is not binding, but it provides guidance on how the...more
On October 16, 2023, the Committee on International Trade (INTA) and the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament adopted their position (the Committee Position; see here and...more
On October 12, 2023, the European Commission (EC) ordered Illumina to unwind its already completed acquisition of the cancer-test provider GRAIL Inc. This is the first time that the EC has ordered a reversal of an...more
On September 25, 2023, the European Commission (EC) blocked the proposed acquisition by Booking Holdings, Inc. of Flugo Group Holdings AB (eTraveli). This is the EC’s first prohibition of a transaction this year and its...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
8/9/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Merger Control Regulation ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
New Regulations ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
State Aid ,
State-Owned Enterprises ,
Threshold Requirements
On June 1, 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted revised Horizontal Guidelines (HGs) and two updated block exemption regulations (BERs) on research and development (R&D) and “specialisation” agreements. These materials...more
7/31/2023
/ Competition ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Guidance Update ,
Horizontal Merger Guidelines ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Joint Venture ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Research and Development ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sustainability ,
V-BER (Vertical Block Exemption Regulation)
On July 10, 2023, the European Commission adopted its long-awaited adequacy decision for the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (“Adequacy Decision”). This ends a three-year journey to set up a successor to the EU-U.S. Privacy...more
7/12/2023
/ Adequacy Requirement ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Commission ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Iceland ,
International Data Transfers ,
Liechtenstein ,
Member State ,
Norway ,
Personal Data ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On May 16, the Regulation establishing an EU Carbon Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was published in the Official Journal of the EU and entered into force the following day. Under the CBAM, importers into the EU of...more
On 20 April 2023, the European Commission (EC) adopted a package of measures to “simplify” its merger control procedures. The reform expands the scope of the EU’s simplified merger control procedure, introduces a new...more
On February 6, 2023, the European Commission (EC) published a draft Implementing Regulation (the Implementing Regulation) setting out rules and procedures for the application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR)....more
On November 28, 2022, the Council of the European Union (Council) gave its final approval to the proposed Regulation on Foreign Subsidies (Regulation), concluding seven months of negotiations with the EU Parliament. Under...more
On May 10, 2022, the European Commission adopted the final text of the new Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) accompanied by the new Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (the VGL), which provide detail on interpretation...more
On January 26, the General Court (GC) of the European Union issued a judgment on remand, annulling the €1.06 billion fine that the European Commission (EC) had imposed on Intel in 2009.
Companies commonly use rebates to...more
2/7/2022
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Burden of Proof ,
Competition ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Final Judgment ,
Intel ,
Rebates ,
Remand ,
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)
On 9 December 2021, the European Commission’s (“Commission”) EU Taxonomy Climate Change Delegated Act (“DA”) was published in the Official Journal of the EU after being approved by the European Council. It will enter into...more
The European Commission has published a far-reaching proposal for a regulation to tackle foreign subsidies affecting the EU internal market. This proposal appears as a game changer for foreign direct investment. If adopted,...more
6/25/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
EU ,
EU Single Market ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Mergers ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Third Country Entities (TCEs) ,
White Papers
On June 4th, 2021, the European Commission adopted and published a new set of so-called standard contractual clauses (“SCCs”) providing a legal basis for international transfers of personal data from the EU/EEA to third...more
6/7/2021
/ EU ,
EU-US Privacy Shield ,
European Commission ,
European Court of Justice (ECJ) ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Personal Data ,
Schrems I & Schrems II ,
Standard Contractual Clauses ,
UK
On April 8, 2020 the European Commission (the ‘EC’) published a temporary antitrust framework for assessing business cooperation to ensure the supply of “essential scarce products and services” during the COVID-19 outbreak...more
In the week following the adoption of the Temporary Framework for EU State aid measures to counter the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 19, 2020,1 the European Commission (the ‘EC’) has approved twenty-one...more
The COVID-19 crisis is first and foremost a health issue, as governments around the world seek to limit and treat its effects and save lives. However, it is also an immediate economic and social issue, as companies and...more
On January 23, 2018, the European Commission (“EC”) adopted its adequacy decision on Japan. Japan issued an equivalent decision regarding data transfers from Japan to the European Union on the same day. This means that...more
Obtaining the European Commission’s (EC’s) approval for a merger or acquisition sometimes can be a time-consuming and costly procedure. This latest issue of WilmerHale’s 8-in-8 alert series on European Law and Policy examines...more
On Friday, May 18, the EU Commission launched the formal process to reactivate a 1996 trade defense law in response to the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program. Once...more
5/23/2018
/ Blocking Statutes ,
China ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Relations ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Russia ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration
As the UK leaves the EU, in light of the seismic result of the United Kingdom referendum on June 23, 2016, there will be an immense amount to do, for the UK and the remaining EU, and for companies that are either based in, or...more
6/27/2016
/ Automotive Industry ,
Community Designs ,
Corporate Counsel ,
David Cameron ,
Digital Single Market ,
Electricity ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
European Patent Convention ,
European Patent Office ,
European Union Trade Mark (EUTM) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Data Transfers ,
IP License ,
Manufacturers ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
One-Stop Shop ,
Referendums ,
Sports ,
Trade Agreements ,
Trucking Industry ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ,
Unitary Patent ,
WTO ,
Young Lawyers