Compliance Perspectives: The End of the Privacy Shield
Nota Bene Episode 89: European Q3 Check In - Merger Clearance and Data Protection Court Rulings and Brexit Updates with Oliver Heinisch
The judgment rejects the European Commission’s expansive re-interpretation of the European Union Merger Regulation, stressing the need for legal certainty in line with the EU legislature’s intent....more
On 3 September 2024, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the European Commission (Commission) cannot encourage or accept referrals for below-threshold deals from national competition authorities if those...more
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
In a spectacular turn, on September 3, 2024, the Court of Justice (CJEU), constituted as the grand chamber, overturned the ruling of the General Court (GC) and annulled the decision made by the Commission to accept requests...more
In a significant development for French merger control, on May 2, 2024 the French Competition Authority applied the jurisprudence laid down in the recent Towercast case to an alleged anti-competitive agreement matter in the...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
On 16 March 2023, the ECJ published its judgment in Towercast (C-449/21), confirming that Article 102 TFEU (which prohibits abuses of a dominant market position) may apply to transactions which fall below national and EU...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
CARTELS & RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS - EC FINES VALVE AND FIVE PUBLISHERS OF PC VIDEO GAMES FOR GEO-BLOCKING - AT.40413, Focus Home – Video Games; AT.40414, Koch Media – Video Games; AT.40420, Zenimax – Video Games;...more
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION - The EU General Court Upheld the Commission’s Fines for Gun Jumping - On 25 February 2015, a French telecom company notified to the Commission (its proposed acquisition of a Portuguese multimedia...more
On 31 January 2020, the UK left the European Union and entered a transition period that is due to end at 11:00 pm GMT on 31 December 2020. At this point, it is still uncertain whether a new EU/UK deal will be reached. To...more
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION - Network Rail Loses Achilles Appeal - On 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU ('CJEU') has rejected A judgment rendered on 5 March dismissed Network Rail’s appeal on all grounds. Network...more
Antitrust and Competition - The Court of Justice of the EU Upholds the Commission’s Powers to Impose High Fines on Companies that “Jump the Gun” - On March 4, 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJEU”) dismissed the...more
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION - The Court Of Justice Of The EU Confirms The Legality Of Certain Commission’s Inspections - On 30 January 2020, the Court of Justice of the EU (‘CJEU’) has rejected appeals filed by the Czech...more
As part of efforts to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, the Directorate-General for Competition of the European Commission and the EU courts are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus among individuals whilst at...more
Norwegian salmon farmer Marine Harvest has been unsuccessful in its appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding substantial and separate fines imposed on it by the European Commission for both...more
As the UK departs the European Union, the CMA – the UK competition regulator – is facing a transformation in its mandate. White & Case considers how the CMA will approach its workload during and after the Transition Period...more
Foreign investment continues to garner a great deal of attention. This trend is expected to continue as the global economy further integrates, the number of cross-border and international transactions keeps increasing, and...more
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS - The New European Commission - Nearly two months after presenting her Political Guidelines for the next European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, President-elect of the new Commission, on 10...more
CARTELS & RESTRICTIVE AGREEMENTS - CJEU’S EYE-OPENING RULING ON ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE AND OFF-LABEL MISINFORMATION – C 179/16, HOFFMAN-LA ROCHE AND OTHERS V AGCM, 23 JANUARY 2018 – On 23 January 2018, the CJEU...more
The “standstill obligation” under Article 7 of the Regulation 139/2004 on Merger Control (EUMR) prevents parties from implementing their transaction before receiving merger clearance from the European Commission (EC). Failure...more
Over the last year, we have noted an increased crackdown by competition agencies on so-called “gun jumping” – that is, the implementation of a merger before mandatory merger clearances are received. On 31 May 2018, the...more
EU and US laws prohibit merging companies from implementing reportable transactions until their deal is cleared or the statutory waiting period has expired. Violations of this principle are colloquially known as “gun-jumping”...more
On September 7, 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that, where joint control is acquired over a new or existing undertaking (or parts of an undertaking), that transaction can only fall within the scope of the...more
Portugal Asks European Court to Determine the Criteria Required for Discriminatory Pricing to Be an Abuse Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - Portuguese Court has asked the...more