Competitive Edge: Competition & EU Law - May 2023
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Keeping you up to date on Competition & EU law developments in Europe and beyond
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In focus
New guidance from the European Commission on abuse of dominance – Key changes and implications
The European Commission announces new guidance on abuse of dominant positions.
With its amended guidance on enforcement priorities, the European Commission aims to reduce the importance of the 'as-efficient competitor test' in abuse of dominance cases and to establish lower thresholds for intervening against exclusionary conduct.
But this is not all, as there are more changes to come. Read on to learn how these changes may impact your business and what the future holds for EU competition law enforcement
Updates from our Jurisdictions
EU
Football the (un)intended consequence of the FSR. Is public procurement next?
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact José Rivas, Paula González Alarcón or Ignacio Villalba Navarro.
Australia
You shall not pass: ACCC pushes for reforms to Australia’s merger laws
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact Thomas Jones, Matthew Bovaird, Patrick Cordwell or Dylan McGirr
Czech Republic
Sanctions, Dawn Raids and Soft Law Mechanisms – What is on the 2023 Horizon for the Czech Competition Office?
Read the full storyFor more information, please contact Vojtěch Chloupek or Martin Taimr
Denmark
Playing with prices is a dangerous game: Large Danish voluntary chain store of kids’ equipment breaches competition law
For more information, please contact Morten Nissen, Alexander Brøchner or Nanna Sofie Krabbe
France
The French Competition Authority fines database providers for price fixing and customer allocation
For more information, please contact Thomas Oster or Claire Burlin
Germany
Apple is found to be of paramount significance for competition across markets
For more information, please contact Dr. Stephan Waldheim or Maren Steiert
Hungary
GVH investigates what drives prices on the dairy market and makes recommendations to the sector
For more information, please contact Gábor Kutai, Dorottya Nagy or Dániel Aranyi
Netherlands
Let’s get digital: Busy times ahead as Dutch regulator prepares for enforcement in digital economy
For more information, please contact Pauline Kuipers or Joost van Roosmalen
United Kingdom
High tide (and time): a watershed moment as the UK seeks to tackle Big Tech as well as strengthen Competition and Consumer laws
For more information, please contact Dr. Saskia King, Robert Turner, Anthony Rosen or Sophie Stoneham
Open all hours: Competition law and the hotel sector (part 1)
For more information, please contact Ariane Le Strat, Dr. Saskia King or Karen Friebe
Open all hours: Competition law and the hotel sector (part 2)
For more information, please contact Ariane Le Strat or Dr. Saskia King
Events, webinars, conferences
Business-to-Consumer Webinar
Consumer Enforcement
Wednesday 24 May | 16-17 BST
Join Pauline Kuipers and Dr. Saskia King for the third in Bird & Bird's International Business-to-Consumer series of webinars, covering the latest developments in consumer law enforcement.
This webinar will explore:
- EU enforcement of consumer law and EU developments
- Update on consumer enforcement in the UK
- We will end with a Q&A session to make sure we have covered all areas that are important to your business.
More information and registration
Conference
Antitrust Private Enforcement: Lessons for Poland
Tuesday 30 May
Warsaw | Centrum Konferencyjne Zielna
Join this upcoming conference on Private Enforcement of Competition Law, organised by our Polish office in cooperation with the Centre for Antitrust and Regulatory Studies of the University of Warsaw, and the Polish Competition Law Association. Distinguished academics and practitioners will share insights on how private enforcement is progressing in selected EU jurisdictions and discussing the key challenges that its growth faces in Poland. Topics that will be discussed include discovery, economic evidence collection and claim financing.
The keynote address will be delivered by Jan Szczodrowski of the European Commission’s Legal Service.
All panels will be held in English.
More information and registration
Informa course
Competition Law Summer School 2023
31 July - 4 August
Cambridge | 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
More information and registration
Event summary, recordings and slides
Competition law and sector regulation in the telecom and pharmaceutical sectors
This hybrid seminar organised in collaboration with the Centre for a Digital Society of the European University Institute (EUI) took place in Bird & Bird's Brussels office on 22 March.
Two panels discussed the topics of:
- Net neutrality and fair sharing in the telecom sector
- Excessive pricing in the pharmaceutical sector
The keynote speech by Paul Csiszár, Director of DG Competition, European Commission at the end of the seminar was followed by a networking reception.
Event summary, video recordings and PowerPoint presentations available here
Bird & Bird news and publications
Partner & Counsel promotions - Competition & EU group
We are thrilled to announce the promotions of Dániel Arányi (Budapest) to partner, Matthew Bovaird (Sydney) to Special Counsel and Baptist Vleeshouwers (Brussels) to Counsel.
Mondaq Thought Leadership Awards - Spring 2023
Two of our articles have received the Mondaq Thought Leadership Award - Spring 2023. These articles were the most popular with readers on the Mondaq platform in the past six months, in the Antitrust/Competition law category.
Congratulations to the authors:
- Thomas Jones, Matthew Bovaird, Patrick Cordwell and Dylan McGirr (Australia)
- Manuela Cox (Netherlands) and Paolo Sasdelli (Brussels)
