Competitive Edge: Competition & EU Law - March 2023
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Keeping you up to date on Competition & EU law developments in Europe and beyond
Read the full news letter here
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In focus
Foreign subsidies under EU control
EU legislation is generally perceived to be successful in combatting restrictions on cross-border trade between Member States. Nevertheless, the EU system has been criticised for not being able to sufficiently target vital security interests and financial advantages granted to companies by non-EU governments.
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (2022/2560), which entered into force on 12 January 2023, targets the beneficiaries of foreign support including contractors organising bidding processes.
This is a further step in the EU to scrutinize and act against alleged unfair practices by non-EU actors. This Regulation is certainly a further reinforcement of the Commission’s policy to defend the European Union against unfair competition by non-EU countries, although it leads to further administrative requirements for businesses.
This article provides an overview and explores who and what will be caught by the new provisions.
Updates from our Jurisdictions
Australia
Partners in grime – Waste services companies plead guilty to criminal cartel offences
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact Thomas Jones, Matthew Bovaird, Patrick Cordwell or Dylan McGirr
China
Launch of enforcement campaign to tackle monopolistic behavior in areas closely impacting public life
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact Sven-Michael Werner or Serena Du
Czech Republic
Czech Competition Office concludes pharmaceutical sector investigation and publishes its full report and recommendations
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact Vojtech Chloupek or Martin Taimr
Denmark
European Commission greenlights two Danish Schemes supporting sustainability technologies
For more information, please contact Morten Nissen, Alexander Brøchner or Nanna Krabbe
France
The French Competition Authority starts proceedings ex officio to analyse competition in the sector of E-mobility
For more information, please contact Thomas Oster or Claire Burlin
Hungary
Conclusions of the HoReCa sector inquiry
For more information, please contact Gábor Kutai or Dániel Aranyi
Italy
The Italian Council of State (partially) confirms SIAE's abuse of its dominant position in the collective rights management market
For more information, please contact Federico Marini Balestra or Lucia Antonazzi.
Netherlands
Dutch ACM clarifies possibilities of selfemployed workers to negotiate working conditions collectively
For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers, Reshmi Rampersad or Sander Wagemakers.
Singapore
Latest Mergers and Acquisitions in Singapore
For more information, please contact Sandra Seah
United Kingdom
FCA issues statement of objections to 3 money transfer firms
For more information, please contact Bridget Chamberlain or Saskia King.
New Subsidy Control Regime in full force
For more information, please contact Peter Willis
Events, webinars, conferences
Hybrid Seminar
Competition law and sector regulation in the telecom and pharmaceutical sectors
22 March 2023 | 15:00 – 20:00 CET
Bird & Bird - Brussels Office
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
Webinar
Football & EU Competition Law: State of Play
30 March 2023 | 10:00 CET
The Court of Justice of the European Union is expected to deliver its judgment in the coming months in the Super League case. European competition law is of central importance in this case. How does it apply to the very special field of sport, in general, and of football in particular?
In this free webinar organised by Football Legal and MLex, José Rivas and other widely recognised experts in the field will discuss all the issues involved and take stock of the application of
EU competition law in football.
Football Legal Journal is the leading publication on Football Law and Football Governance.
MLex is an independent news organization; MLex® is solely focused on uncovering regulatory risk across the globe.
Webinar hosted by Lexology
FDI review - is 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 Nick O'Donnell 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 experts 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 regime
- The German regime
- The Dutch regime
- Corporate transaction timetable and conditions precedent.
Webinar in Polish
Legal and practical aspects of the protection of business secrets
29-30 March 2023
Our Warsaw-based senior associate Szymon Gołębiowski will be one of the experts speaking at this two-day online conference organised by MMC Polska. He will present on Protection of business secrets in competition protection proceedings before the European Commission on 30 March.
More information and registration here
Webinar in Polish
The Polish Competition Authority’s intensive activities in the field of prohibited pricing practices and counteracting the unfair use of contractual advantage
05 April 2023 | 09:45 - 11:45 CET
Our Warsaw-based competition lawyers Marcin Alberski and Stanisław Szymanek will discuss the Polish Competition Authority’s intensive activities in the field of prohibited pricing practices and counteracting the unfair use of contractual advantage in this webinar organised by MMC Polska.
More information and registration here
Recording of past event
The legal and economic aspects of the organisation of football in Europe
If you missed the important and timely discussions about the European Sport Model at this conference that took place on 21 February in Luxembourg, a review and video replay are now available.
José Rivas took part in the panel discussing the regime of the European football pyramid under EU law, and you can find his intervention in the video at 2h:49m.
The conference was organised by the Centre for Law and Economics of Sport (FR) and the University of Luxembourg (LU).
Read CDES' brief review of the conference here
Watch the video replay of the conference
Bird & Bird news and publications
Main Developments in Competition Law and Policy 2022 – The Netherlands
Read this article by our competition experts Pauline Kuipers and Reshmi Rampersad, based in The Hague, which was recently published on the Kluwer Competition Law Blog.
FDI - Foreign Direct Investment Overview
Global scrutiny of M&A deals and investments is on the increase with evolving foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes and greater scrutiny of deals to protect national security interests. Alongside merger control requirements and clearances, it is now essential to consider FDI clearance requirements.
This short document outlines how Bird & Bird can help and provides a link to a detailed breakdown of FDI requirements by country.
