Competitive Edge: Competition & EU Law - February 2023

 

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In focus

Upping the ante: Australian Government consults on ex-ante regulation of digital platforms

In a move that may again put Australia in the forefront of reforms to digital platform regulation, the Australian government has launched a consultation into proposed reforms of Australia’s competition laws to introduce targeted ex-ante regulation of certain digital platforms. This follows the latest report in the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Services Inquiry which recommends significant reforms to address potential harms to competition and consumers.

Read the full story

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Updates from our Jurisdictions

EU

Unilever Italia: EU Court of Justice further raises the burden of proof in abuse cases

Read the full story  

For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers or Reshmi Rampersad

Corporate sustainability – sharing the Green Deal burden

Read the full story  

For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers, Sander Wagemakers or Paul Waszink

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Belgium

Apply, rinse, repeat: Belgian Competition Authority reimposes fine on Caudalie group for active and passive sales restrictions and retail price maintenance

Read the full story 

For more information, please contact Baptist Vleeshouwers

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Denmark

DCCA Clears the Way for Ahlsell-Sanistål Merger despite significant overlaps

Read the full story 

For more information, please contact Morten Nissen, Alexander Brøchner or Nanna Krabbe

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Germany

Competition probe into PayPal’s GT&Cs & Landmark Supreme Court decision on judicial review of arbitral awards

Read the full story

For more information, please contact Dr. Stephan Waldheim or Maren Steiert

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Hungary

Investigating the food sector

Read the full story

For more information, please contact Dániel Aranyi, Gábor Kutai or Dorottya Nagy

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Netherlands

Dutch competition regulator blocks media merger between Talpa and RTL

Read the full story

For more information, please contact Janneke Kohlen or Joost van Roosmalen

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Spain

CNMC works on a guide on quantification of damages for Competition Law infringements

Read the full story

For more information, please contact Candela Sotés.

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Events, webinars, conferences

In-person event with live streaming
The legal and economic aspects of the organisation of football in Europe

21 February 2023 | 13 – 17.45 CET
Luxembourg

Our Brussels-based partner Jose Rivas will take part in the panel discussing the regime of the European football pyramid under EU law at this conference organised by the Centre for Law and Economics of Sport (FR) and the University of Luxembourg (LU). The event will bring together leading international academics, lawyers, economists and policymakers to explore the legal and economic aspects of the organisation of football in Europe.

Find out more here

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Informa conference

Competition law Nordic

14-15 March 2023 | Stockholm

At this conference in Stockholm, Bird & Bird's Copenhagen-based competition partner Morten Nissen and Paula Mäkelä, Associate Principal at RBB Economics, will present on the new Market Definition Notice and discuss how it will affect competition law enforcement.

Register here to save 20% on your registration fee

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Hybrid seminar

Competition law and sector regulation in the telecom and pharmaceutical sectors

22 March 2023 |15:00 - 20:00 (CET)
Brussels

Join us at Bird & Bird's Brussels office for this hybrid seminar organised with the Centre for a Digital Society of the European University Institute (EUI).

Economic regulation aims at fostering the proper functioning of markets including by potentially imposing asymmetrical duties on certain players in network industries such as communications, energy, or railway transport. In the pharmaceutical sector, regulation mainly aims at solving information asymmetries and ensuring drug affordability for final consumers. In these sectors, the application of sector regulation and EU competition policy goes hand in hand and may include potential overlaps.

This event will bring together academics, practitioners, officials from national governments and EU institutions and industry representatives to debate competition law and sector regulation in the telecom and pharmaceutical sectors.

The key-note speech will be delivered by Paul Csiszár, Director of DG Competition, European Commission.

For more information and to register, visit the event webpage

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Webinar

FDI review – increasing deglobalisation justified by protecting national security?

18 April 2023 |17:00 - 18:00 (CET)

In this webinar our team of competition and corporate law experts Janneke Kohlen, Dr Stephan Waldheim, Anthony Rosen and Stefan Muench will take a look at the EU Foreign Direct Investment Regulation, namely its implementation and status across the EU, with a focus on Germany and the Netherlands, to examine whether there is a trend towards increased protectionism within the EU. They will also look at the UK’s developing National Security and Investment Act, which has now been in play for just over a year, to consider whether any
trends are emerging.

The exerts will discuss certain key aspects that companies should consider as they invest in companies located in other countries, which may fall in the scope of the critical infrastructure or sensitive technology sectors. After a short overview of the EU legislation, they will touch upon the UK, German and Dutch regimes and provide further insights on the key corporate/transactional considerations.

• EU FDI screening
  • Vital sectors
  • Sensitive technologies
• The UK
• Germany
• The Netherlands
• Corporate transaction timetable and conditions precedent.

Register for the webinar

Find out more

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Bird & Bird news and publications

Guide to EU and UK Pharmaceutical Regulatory Law

Our Copenhagen-based competition experts Morten Nissen and Alexander Brochner, together with London-based Peter Willis, authored the chapter on competition law in the 8th edition of the Guide to EU & UK Pharmaceutical Regulatory Law, published by Wolters Kluwer. The guide was edited by Sally Shorthose, Bird & Bird IP partner and joint head of our international Life Sciences Regulatory Group.

More information on the book here

You are welcome to join our book launch event in Dublin on 1 March 2023.

For more information and to register for the event click here

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Summary of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA)

If you'd like a brief and visual summary of the DMA, this is for you. The document covers:

• Range of Core Platform Services
• Gatekeeper Criteria
• Dos and don’ts which designated Gatekeepers must comply with
• What's next

View the DMA summary document

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Article published in Concurences e-Competitions bulletin

Our Warsaw-based competition lawyers Szymon Gołębiowski and Stanisław Szymanek’s article about the Polish Competition Authority’s decision of October 2022 which imposed fines for alleged wage-fixing agreements between basketball clubs and the national league, was published by Concurrences’ e-Competitions bulletin.

Read the article here

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Article nomination for 2023 Antitrust Writing Awards

Our article “What about sustainability aspects in merger control?” has been shortlisted by the 2023 Antitrust Writing Awards, organized by Concurrences and George Washington University, for the best Business Articles category in the subcategory “Mergers”.

You can now vote for you favourite articles here: Antitrust Writing Awards 2023

The winners will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on March 28 in Washington DC.

Voting will close on Tuesday, March 14.

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Competition Law Code of Conduct - Codice della Concorrenza

Our Rome - based partner Dr Federico Marini Balestra authored two chapters on private enforcement for the book 'Codice della Concorrenza' (Competition Law Code of Conduct), which were edited by two former general secretaries of the Italian Competition Authority.

The chapters are on the new provisions introduced by the Italian Act implementing the Private Enforcement Directive on time-limitation and joint-liability. The treatise has been published at the beginning of February this year.

More information on the book (in Italian)

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Treaty of Guarantees in Communications - Trattato delle Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni

Our TMT and Competition law experts in Italy have contributed to the book on the Treaty of Guarantees in Communications “Trattato delle Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni” published by Giuffrè Francis Lefebvre. Arturo Leone drafted the chapter on the "Dignity Decree and prohibition of advertising for games and bets" and "AGCOM's duties in the field of copyright protection", the latter co-authored with Alessandro Berti Arnoaldi Veli; Dr. Federico Marini-Balestra edited the chapters on the "Institutional structure: the Commission, the NRAs and the Berec", "The Procedures" and "The Remedies"; while Lucia Antonazzi authored the chapter "Open Internet - Net neutrality".

More information on the book (in Italian)