Tilman Kuhn

As part of its review of the EU antitrust rules governing vertical agreements, the European Commission (EC) has published for consultation a draft new section of its Vertical Guidelines, which contains proposed guidance on information exchange in "dual distribution" relationships. Reacting to (...)

The German Bundeskartellamt and the Austrian Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde have updated their joint guidance on the application of their respective transaction value thresholds for mandatory merger notifications (the "Guidelines") on December 23, 2021. The authorities initially published the (...)

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Competition (the “GAC”) has been ramping up its merger control activities and recently—at least initially—blocked its first transaction, signaling plans for more active merger enforcement. Although Saudi Arabia’s current merger control regime is (...)

No-poach agreements on the European Commission dawn raid radar* In a speech on 22 October 2021, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager revealed that the European Commission was planning a series of dawn raids for the months to come. She highlighted that the European Commission is not (...)

On 9 July 2021, the European Commission (EC) published for public consultation a draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and draft revised guidelines on vertical restraints (Vertical Guidelines). The EC has made substantial revisions, including adjustments to the rules (...)

On 6 May 2021, the European Commission ("Commission") published a staff working document ("SWD") on its evaluation of the horizontal block exemption regulations on research & development and specialisation agreements ("H-BERs") and the horizontal guidelines. The SWD is accompanied by an (...)

On 5 May 2021, the European Commission ("Commission") issued a proposal for a far-reaching Regulation to tackle foreign subsidies, which, if adopted, will increase the regulatory risk for companies operating or investing in the EU with backing from non-EU States. The new instrument targets (...)

The European Commission ("EC") is shifting its approach with respect to the referral mechanism under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation 139/2004 (the "EUMR") and now – at least in certain circumstances – encourages referrals from Member States even where the national filing thresholds are not (...)

The European Commission ("EC") is shifting its approach with respect to the referral mechanism under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation 139/2004 (the "EUMR") and now – at least in certain circumstances – encourages referrals from Member States even where the national filing thresholds are (...)

On 25 March 2021, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") dismissed all the appeals against the European Commission’s decision to fine Lundbeck and several other companies for entering into anti-competitive patent settlement agreements. The judgments largely repeat the position taken by the ECJ (...)

At a time when the European Union and many Member States have just unveiled their hydrogen strategy, the French Competition Authority takes the lead in delivering the very first analysis of the emerging hydrogen sector in a merger control case. In addition, contrary to the well-established (...)

Yesterday, the 10th amendment to the German Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen – "GWB") entered into force, and with it the most substantial overhaul of German competition law in a long time. The new law contains a number of significant adjustments of (...)

In the midst of the Homeric battle between Veolia and its takeover target, Suez, the European Commission rejects Suez’s gun jumping claim and provides further clarifications on the scope of the exemption to the standstill obligation in the case of two-step acquisitions encompassing a public bid. (...)

The General Court of the European Union (the "General Court") has confirmed this week that the eligibility rules of the International Skating Union ("ISU"), which penalized athletes participating in competitions not authorized by the ISU, infringe EU competition law. While the EU General Court (...)

While there is still no standalone foreign direct investment (FDI) screening at the EU level, the EU continues to push for a coordinated approach toward foreign direct investments into the EU. The key instrument is the EU Screening Regulation, which has entered into force on October 11, 2020. (...)

The EC is seeking to investigate the mobile payments sector by launching two tenders by the end of October for the provision of expert reports on the sector. The first tender aims to “gather informed knowledge, in the form of a report, about the state and evolution of contactless and mobile (...)

A recent speech by the European Commission’s (the Commission) Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager (the Commissioner), on the 30th anniversary of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR), praised it as having created "a better life for everyone", "saved customers billions of euros each year" (...)

This article has been nominated for the 2021 Antitrust Writing Awards. Click here to learn more about the Antitrust Writing Awards. A recent speech by the European Commission’s (the Commission) Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager (the Commissioner), on the 30th anniversary of the (...)

On July 29, 2020, the German Monopolies Commission published its 2020 biennial Report on Competition (Hauptgutachten XXIII : Wettbewerb 2020) under Section 44(1) Act against Restraints of Competition (“GWB”). In its report, the Monopolies Commission – a permanent, independent advisory body which (...)

The European Council (“Council”) greenlighted the regulation on the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU (“Regulation”) at the beginning of March. Following its publication in the Official Journal on 21 March 2019, the Regulation will go live 20 days thereafter, i.e. on 10 April (...)