On January 15, 2025, the European Commission ("EC") published a Recommendation ("EU Recommendation") urging European Union Member States to start reviewing outbound investments outside of the EU in three strategic sectors:...more
The Situation: To address a perceived enforcement gap, the European Commission ("EC") has issued guidelines expanding the types of non-reportable transactions subject to its "upward referral mechanism," which permits EU...more
The Development: On January 24, 2024, the European Commission ("EC") unveiled a package of five fresh initiatives aimed at strengthening the European Union's ("EU") economic security (the "Package"). This will likely increase...more
The Development: The Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 (the "STCT Act") was signed into law on October 31, 2023, introducing a new investment screening regime in the Republic of Ireland ("Ireland") with a...more
On October 3, 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") unveiled a list of 10 technology areas qualified as "critical" to the European Union's ("EU") economic security, out of which four (Semiconductors, AI, Quantum...more
10/17/2023
/ 5G Network ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biotechnology ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Economic Reform ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment Controls ,
Risk Assessment ,
Semiconductors
In Short -
The Background: Luxembourg has introduced a new foreign direct investment regime with a suspensory mandatory notification requirement in relation to investments in a broad range of sectors....more
In Short -
The Situation: On July 13, 2023, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") issued a judgment (Case C-106/22 - Xella) clarifying the conditions under which EU Member States may screen and block foreign direct...more
In Short -
The Development: The new Belgian foreign direct investment screening law ("FDI Regime") imposes preclosing filing requirements on non-EU investments into various industry sectors in Belgium, including energy,...more
In Short -
The Situation: On 27 March 2023, the European Commission ("Commission") published a Communication amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities concerning exclusionary abuses ("amended 2008 Guidance...more
In Short -
The Development: The Court of Justice of the European Union ("ECJ") held that national competition authorities ("NCA") may investigate and block an M&A transaction that violates Article 102 of the Treaty on the...more
In Short -
The Development: The European Commission ("EC") has published highly anticipated draft guidelines ("Draft Guidelines") detailing a new antitrust exemption for agreements in the agriculture and food supply chain...more
In Short -
The Situation: The European Commission ("EC") is expected to release guidelines regarding a newly introduced exemption to the EU antitrust rules for certain agreements aimed at achieving the EU's sustainability...more
The EC recently found that Hungary's veto of Vienna Insurance Group's ("VIG") acquisition of the Hungarian subsidiaries of the AEGON Group, an insurance, pension fund, and asset management company, breached EU merger control...more
The Background: The European Commission ("Commission") recently unveiled long-awaited draft revisions to its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation ("VBER") and Vertical Guidelines. The VBER includes safe harbors that exempt...more
8/12/2021
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Competition ,
Corporate Counsel ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
International Trade ,
Most-Favored Nations ,
Safe Harbors ,
Sales & Distribution Agreements ,
Supply Chain ,
V-BER (Vertical Block Exemption Regulation)
New law regulates commercial dealings between suppliers and comparatively larger buyers of food and agricultural products.
Germany passed a new law, Agrarorganisationen-und-Lieferketten-Gesetz ("AgrarOLkG"), the...more
The Development: Antitrust authorities in the United States and European Union have assessed penalties and fines against Canon, and in the United States, Toshiba, for structuring a transaction to avoid premerger notification...more
7/16/2019
/ Anticompetitive Behavior ,
Canon ,
China ,
Corporate Fines ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Gun-Jumping ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
MOFCOM ,
Notification Requirements ,
Premerger Notifications ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Toshiba ,
Waiting Periods
Whistleblowers who expose breaches of European Union law will be afforded greater protection from retaliation by companies and public authorities under a draft law proposed by the European Commission in April 2018. The draft...more
4/27/2018
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Protection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers ,
White Collar Crimes
The Ruling: On December 6, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") issued its long-awaited judgment in the Coty case, which clarifies the extent to which an online platform ban within a selective...more
On June 6, 2017, Belgium adopted legislation ("Law") transposing the EU directive on private antitrust damages (Directive 2014/104, ("Directive")). The Law became applicable on June 22, 2017, and is expected to boost private...more
8/5/2017
/ Antitrust Violations ,
Belgium ,
Burden of Proof ,
Collective Actions ,
Competition Authorities ,
Damages ,
EU ,
EU Damages Directive ,
Evidence ,
Irrebuttable Presumptions ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Private Right of Action
On May 10, 2017, the European Commission published its long-awaited Final Report on the 2015 E-commerce Sector Inquiry ("Report"). The Report highlights the Commission's enforcement priorities in the online markets for...more
Since May 2015, the European Commission ("Commission") has identified the completion of the Digital Single Market as one of its top-ten political priorities. The Digital Single Market Strategy ("Strategy") aims at ensuring...more
4/27/2017
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Investigations ,
Copyright ,
Cross-Border ,
Digital Single Market ,
E-Commerce ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Geo-Blocking ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Internet Streaming ,
Member State ,
Video Games