Competitive Edge: Competition & EU Law - July 2023 - Special edition on Horizontals
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Keeping you up to date on Competition & EU law developments in Europe and beyond
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New Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations & Guidelines
Dear readers,
Per 1 July 2023, the European Commission’s revised competition law regime for horizontal cooperation agreements entered into force. The package, consisting of the Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations for R&D and Specialisation and the Horizontal Guidelines, replaces the old horizontal rules and guidelines from 2011 and is valid until 2035.
In view of the significance of this legislative package, we dedicate this month’s edition of Competitive Edge to the European Commission’s new legal framework and guidance for horizontal cooperation agreements. In a series of contributions from around our global competition team, we present the main changes in relation to competition law consideration of horizontal cooperation agreements from an EU perspective with a comparative look at relevant non-EU jurisdictions.
Happy reading – and as always – please let us know should you have any specific topics you wish the Competitive Edge newsletter or podcasts to cover.
For more information contact Pauline Kuipers or Morten Nissen
Webinar: Do’s & don’ts for cooperating with competitors – the new EU rules
On 14 September at 13h CET, join us for an informative webinar on the new Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations, hosted by Lexology.
Overview of the main changes
For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers, Lucia Antonazzi, Chiara Horgan or Tenisha Burslem Rotheroe.
The new Research and Development Horizontal Block Exemption Regulation
For more information, please contact Morten Nissen or Ignacio Villaba Navarro.
What’s new about Joint purchasing agreements/buying alliances
For more information, please contact Janneke Kohlen, Claire Burlin or Jules Mothes.
Standardisation agreements - Sleeping Beauty Awakened or The Emperor’s New Clothes?
For more information, please contact Dr. Stephan Waldheim, Tamy Tietze, Candela Sotes or Alexander Brøchner.
How to deal with information exchange
For more information, please contact Federico Marini Balestra, Nicola Ceraolo, Lucia Antonazzi, Chiara Horgan, Marcin Alberski, Szymon Golebiowski or Stanislaw Szymanek.
Sustainability on the Menu in the Commission’s Horizontal Guidelines
For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers, Nanna Krabbe, Maria Karpathakis or Tialda Beetstra.
Competition law and horizontal agreements - A non-EU cross-jurisdictional comparison
For more information, please contact Thomas Jones, Patrick Cordwell, Tenisha Burslem Rotheroe or Jonathan Kao.
Webinars and events
Informa course
Competition Law Summer School 2023
31 July - 4 August
Cambridge, UK | Downing College
This all-inclusive residential 5-day course will provide you with a firm understanding of the core principles of EU and UK competition law and economics, and their practical application.
The speaker lineup includes Bird & Bird competition experts:
Anne Federle - presenting on Hard Core Cartels: Principles and Practical Examples, on Day 1, Monday 31st July.
Dr. Saskia King presenting on 3 August:
- Chair's opening remarks
- A Practical Guide to Merger Proceedings
- Case Study: Mergers
- Navigating the Competition Process
Get a 20% discount on your registration fee
Webinar
EU Foreign Direct Investments regulations webinar: The Nordics - similar, yet so different. Key regional legal issues for you to consider!
18 September | 13:00 - 14:30 CET
Bird & Bird are delighted to invite you to a webinar which will help you successfully navigate the latest developments and legal aspects in the EU FDI regulations. Is increasing deglobalisation justified by protecting national security? At this FDI webinar we will take a closer look at the rationale for the FDI-regulations, the current state of play in the Nordics, the regulatory obligations and the relationship with national screening mechanisms, highlighting national similarities and pointing out some, sometimes surprising, differences.
In the webinar, we will cover:
- Background to the EU wide screening mechanism
- Current state of implementation
- Foreign Direct Investments, the who’s, the what’s and the processes
- Scopes and which sectors to pay special attention to
- Deal Terms & Negotiations
Our Competition partners Morten Nissen and Katia Duncker, and associate Alexander Brøchner, are speakers for this topical webinar.
Conference
Lear Competition Festival 2023
26 - 29 September
Rome, Italy | WeGil - Largo Ascianghi 5
Bird & Bird is proud to be a partner of this unique four-day event in Rome focused on competition law, where participants will be able to gain a deeper understanding of specific antitrust issues through discussions, know-how sessions, networking events and much more.
On 28 September, our Rome-based Competition partner Dr. Federico Marini Balestra will moderate the plenary session Antitrust Enforcement, Industrial Concentration and Political Power with two prominent economists Andrea Prat, Professor of Business and Economics, Columbia University and Luigi Zingales, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
More information and registration
Registration is free for companies and in-house counsel.
Others can receive a 20% Bird & Bird discount on the 3-Day pass by using the code LCF23TwoBirds when registering.
ERA Course
Cartel Enforcement in the EU: Advanced Competition law training
5 - 6 October 2023
Zagreb, Croatia
This training is addressed to staff of national competition authorities, lawyers in private practice and inhouse counsel dealing with competition law cases from all around Europe.
The seminar aims tp provide a thorough update for competition law practitioners on the recent trends and developments in EU cartel enforcement.
Competition partner Pauline Kuipers will lead the workshop exercise: Unannounced inspections in the digital age - main issues and practical challenges on October 6th.
More information and registration
Course
Florence Competition Autumn School 2023
16 - 19 October 2023
Fiesole (Florence) and online
The Florence Competition Autumn School, held on the campus of EUI (European University Institute), is an advanced course on recent developments in competition policy in Europe, the USA and the rest of the world.
Our Brussels-based Counsel Baptist Vleeshowers will make sure you are aware of the latest developments in antitrust leniency applications and dawn raids with a presentation followed by an interactive group exercise of a dawn raid simulation.
