14 April 2020
State aid & the COVID-19 pandemic – Automotive sector
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/state-aid-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-automotive-sector

Public safety measures, supply disruptions and the unprecedented dramatic decline in automotive markets as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak have forced OEMs to stop production in numerous Member States. Such decisions ...

05 September 2018
Bird & Bird today boosts its International Automotive Group with the appointment of Lawrence Freeman as Senior Counsel in Brussels
www.twobirds.com/en/news/press-releases/2018/belgium/bird-bird-boosts-its-international-automotive-group-with-the-appointment-of-lawrence-freeman

Lawrence joins from Tesla Inc. where he spent the past five years as European Counsel. With nearly 25 years of experience as a competition and regulatory lawyer both in-house and in private practice, he advises on a ...

15 July 2019
Does access to data require a new approach in antitrust aftermarket cases?
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/does-access-to-data-require-a-new-approach-in-antitrust-aftermarket-cases

This article examines the theory and practice of the European Commission on the subject of aftermarkets to date and what may be required to change as regards digitised markets

14 July 2020
The EU Court of Justice provides guidance for the antitrust assessment of "pay-for-delay" agreements in the pharmaceutical sector.
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/the-eu-court-of-justice-provides-guidance-for-the-antitrust

The Court of Justice provided guidance for the antitrust assessment of agreements between competitors in the pharmaceutical sector. The Court's judgment is relevant because it addresses fundamental issues that have been ...

18 August 2020
Publication of the new French merger control guidelines
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/france/publication-of-the-new-french-merger-control-guidelines

The French Competition Authority (FCA) recently published its new merger control guidelines. The adoption of these new guidelines follows a series of public consultations and is part of the FCA’s efforts to simplify and ...

24 June 2019
Big Data & Issues & Opportunities: Looking beyond
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2019/global/big-data-and-issues-and-opportunities-looking-beyond

In this concluding article of our series on "Big Data & Issues & Opportunities", we want to start looking beyond the issues and opportunities that were identified in the 17 articles that make up the series.

29 September 2020
Amendments to the EU vehicle type approval system and the exemption procedure for EU approval of new autonomous vehicle technology
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/amendments-to-the-eu-vehicle-type-approval-system-and-the-exemption-procedure-for-eu-approval

Under the Whole Vehicle Type-Approval System ("WVTA"), a manufacturer can obtain certification for a vehicle type in one EU Member State and market it EU-wide without further tests. The certification is issued by a ...

17 November 2020
European industrial policy vs. European competition law: state of play 18 months after the Siemens-Alstom decision
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/european-industrial-policy-vs-european-competition-law-state

The European Commission's decision to block the Siemens-Alstom mega-merger in February 2019 provoked the anger of the French and German governments that had backed the deal. Eighteen months after this decision and an ...

15 December 2020
Outlook: Sustainability and competition law in 2021
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/global/sustainability-and-competition-law-in-202

Competition law is (sometimes) perceived to be a barrier for cooperation and progress towards a more sustainable economy. This outlook 2021 explores the current available leeway under competition law for sustainability ...

15 December 2020
A few final words on Brexit (or not so final!)
www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2020/uk/a-few-final-words-on-brexit-or-not-so-final

As 31 December 2020 approaches the UK and EU competition authorities have both published guidance on the application of the competition rules at the end of the Brexit transition period. This also covers the treatment of ...