Johan Ysewyn

In spite of the fact that the Belgian Competition Authority is one of the "small kids on the block" within the ECN, it has been a trendsetter in a number of enforcement areas, such as the development of the hub-and-spoke cartel concept and the development of the interim measures tool. For this (...)

On 6 May 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) published the findings of its evaluation of the horizontal block exemption regulations for Research & Development (“R&D BER”) and specialisation agreements (“Specialisation BER”, together “HBERs”), as well as the accompanying Horizontal (...)

Companies that benefit from non-EU state support or subsidies will soon face heightened scrutiny in the European Union (EU) as the European Commission unveiled on May 5 its proposed Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market. As its name suggests, the proposed Regulation (...)

Back in 2020, the French Competition Authority (“FCA”) had announced, in its annual priorities, its interest in the competition implications of the digital revolution in the financial sector, notably in the context of the growth of FinTech, the introduction of blockchain technology and the (...)

On March 8, 2021, the European Commission (EC) approved the state recapitalization of up to €39.7 million, comprising a capital injection and a waived dividend payment for the 2019 financial year. The measure was notified to the EC under the EU’s Temporary Framework for State aid to support the (...)

On 17 February 2021, the General Court of the European Union (“General Court”) in Cases T-259/20 and T-238/20 dismissed Ryanair’s challenges to pandemic aid packages introduced in France and Sweden in order to support the domestic airline sector. The judgments are the first ones where the General (...)

The Commission’s Temporary Framework for State aid measures supporting the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic (the “Temporary Framework”) is proving to be a success. More than 200 Member State schemes and individual measures have been cleared under the Temporary Framework since its adoption in (...)

On 27 January 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) confirmed in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. v European Commission that financial investors can be liable where they hold 100% voting rights over an indirect entity that participated in a cartel, even though the investor does not (...)

Introduction In its preliminary ruling of 14 January 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) clarified that the duration of an infringement in the case of bid rigging ends once the essential characteristics of the public tender are determined – which in practice likely means at (...)

The UK Supreme Court has today ruled in favour of Walter Merricks, the former head of the UK Financial Ombudsman Service., in a hotly-anticipated judgment in the first opt-out competition class action brought in the UK. Background Mr Merricks is the proposed class representative for 46.2 (...)

In three related judgments of October 5, 2020 (T-249/17, T-254/17 and T-255/17) the General Court (the “GC”) partially annulled European Commission inspection decisions which were the basis for dawn raids on several French retailers. The judgments further develop the position adopted in Czech (...)

The French Competition Authority (“FCA”) prohibited the proposed acquisition of the hypermarket retailer Géant Casino by its competitor E.Leclerc in the French city of Troyes. It found that the transaction would create a duopoly between the two remaining hypermarkets, Carrefour and E.Leclerc, (...)

On July 16, 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) announced that it has launched an antitrust sector inquiry into "consumer-related products and services that are connected to a network and can be controlled at a distance, for example via a voice assistant or mobile device." Commission (...)

The European Commission (”Commission”) is preparing the ground for a new competition enforcement tool. This new tool could substantially extend the competition authority’s current enforcement powers and allow for far-reaching intervention where the Commission identifies structural competition (...)

On 25 May 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) has published its Final Report of the support studies for the evaluation of its Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”) and the accompanying Guidelines on Vertical Restraints (the “Final Report”). The Final Report was published following a (...)

On 8 May 2020, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted a second amendment (the “New Amendment”) to the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy during the COVID-19 outbreak (the “Temporary Framework”) (see our previous post on the Temporary Framework here and on the (...)

At a time when COVID-19 is having direct and indirect effects on the reduction of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and ensuing global warming, eight French regulators, including the French Competition Authority, issued on 5 May 2020 a joint working paper in which they highlight the need to take (...)

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission (“EC”) is taking steps to stabilise the most affected sectors of the economy. As part of its efforts, the EC has announced its support for the agricultural and food sectors which are severely affected by the pandemic. This (...)

More than 20 years after the adoption of the first European Commission Leniency Notice, the detection and sanctioning of cartels remains a key feature of the enforcement agenda of the European Commission (the “Commission”) and – the currently still 28 – European Union (“EU”) national competition authorities (“NCAs” or “CAs”). Leniency programmes are a crucial tool in uncovering cartels, with a large majority of cartel decisions adopted by European competition authorities based on immunity and leniency applications. But for how long?

On Friday, July 21, 2017, the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) handed down its second class certification decision under the class actions regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the “Act”). It dismissed the application for two reasons. First, the proposed representative (...)

The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) has handed down its first class certification judgment in relation to the class actions regime introduced by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the “Act”). The result? The hearing has been adjourned, with the proposed representative allowed to file and (...)

After a wait of nearly 15 months from the introduction of class actions in the UK for antitrust damages claims, the first class certification hearing took place before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (the “CAT”) between December 12 and 14. Having heard argument, the CAT is considering (...)

On July 9, 2015, the EU’s top court, the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), rendered its long-awaited ruling in the Innolux - LCD cartel appeal. The Innolux case is effectively the EU counterpart of the U.S. Motorola litigation in that it concerns fundamental issues of antitrust jurisdiction over (...)

On 22 June 2015 the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) issued its decision in the supermarkets cartel, fining 18 supermarkets and suppliers of personal care, hygiene and cleaning products for coordinating retail price increases between 2002 and 2007. This occurred in the context of a cartel (...)

Earlier today, the European Commission (the “EC”) announced the launch of a sector inquiry into the e-commerce sector in the European Union (“EU”). This is the first sector inquiry in the EU since 2008, and is part of the EC’s broader Digital Single Market (“DSM”) Strategy. The Directorate General (...)

This year -2014- the EU leniency programme is reaching the age of majority. The first European Commission Notice on the non-imposition or reduction of fines in cartel cases was published 18 years ago. e-Competitions chose the perfect time to review and comment on the recent developments in the (...)

In an important ruling rendered March 19, 2015 in the Bananas case, the EU’s top court definitively upheld the EU Commission’s expansive view of cartel conduct and held that no “fix” (as in agreement) is needed for the EU to conclude that cartel activities have occurred. It is no secret that the (...)

Margrethe Vestager, designate European Commissioner for competition, has won the support of the European Parliament following her confirmation hearing on 2 October 2014. Recurring topics were growth and innovation, the creation of jobs and the importance of a strong and fair application of (...)

The European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) has handed a victory to cartel damage claimants. In its 6 June Donau Chemie ruling, the CJEU held that EU Member States cannot adopt legislation that deprives plaintiffs of all rights to access evidence in a cartel file of an antitrust authority. (...)

INTRODUCTION On 14 September 2010, the Court of Justice, the highest court in the European Union (“EU”), ruled that, in the context of EU competition law investigations, legal professional privilege (“LPP”) does not cover communications between in-house lawyers and other employees at a company, (...)