Summary Next week will be a committee and political group week in the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will spend a good portion of their week with their political groups, where they will prepare for the plenary session, scheduled for June 17-19, 2020. They will discuss, among other topics, the upcoming Council … Continue Reading
The FDI space in Europe remains dynamic. Less than five months from the entering into force of the EU FDI Regulation, and just two months since the European Commission asked the Member States to both strengthen and “vigorously” implement the tools available to them and, where appropriate, introduce new FDI screening mechanisms –on which we … Continue Reading
Summary Next week will be a short week in the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather (virtually) in Brussels for committee meetings and political group meetings. A few interesting debates are scheduled to take place. On Tuesday, the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (“AGRI”) will have an exchange of views … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Friday 29 May 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous … Continue Reading
At a time when COVID-19 is having direct and indirect effects on the reduction of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and ensuing global warming, eight French regulators, including the French Competition Authority, issued on 5 May 2020 a joint working paper in which they highlight the need to take into account the “climate emergency” in defining … Continue Reading
With the assistance of Covington, Unilever submitted the attached paper to the European Commission and a number of National Competition Authorities. It suggests a possible framework for the application of EU competition law to sustainability collaborations between competitors. The paper reflects insights from experts across Unilever and puts forward examples of existing or possible co-operations, … Continue Reading
Summary Next week, Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for a plenary session and committee meetings. Several important debates and votes are scheduled to take place. On Monday, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (“ECON”) will have an exchange of views on the Temporary State Aid Framework with Executive Vice-President … Continue Reading
Summary Due to Ascension Day, next week will be brief in the European Parliament. A limited number of Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings. Several interesting debates and hearings are scheduled to take place. On Monday, Internal Market Commissioner Breton will appear in front of the Parliament’s Committee … Continue Reading
Summary Next week, many Members of the European Parliament (“MEPs”) will gather in Brussels for committee meetings and plenary sessions. Due to lockdown measures in many EU Member States, not all MEPs will be attending these sessions. Nevertheless, appropriate measures will be taken so that business can proceed as usual as much as possible. For … Continue Reading
“Businesses that have better risk mitigation processes across their supply chains cause less harm to people… Good environmental, social, and governance practices pay off… We need to make sure that responsible business conduct and sustainable supply chains become the norm.” EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, April 29, 2020 On April 29, 2020, in a … Continue Reading
Every new team entering the Berlaymont to head up the European Commission starts out with bold and ambitious plans. Time after time, reality intervenes, and their plans are upended. This was true for the second Barroso Commission in 2010, when the aftershocks of the Global Financial Crisis and the Greek and Euro crisis that followed … Continue Reading
Under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (“TFEU”), an undertaking may abuse its dominant position by “directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices”. The UK Court of Appeal recently provided guidance regarding the legal test to determine whether pricing is excessive and unfair. In March, it dismissed … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Thursday 30 April 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Friday 24 April. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update … Continue Reading
In two recent webinars covering antitrust, mergers and state aid, DG COMP senior officials shared their views on how DG COMP is operating under the current COVID-19 crisis. Antitrust: More Flexible Enforcement Maria Jaspers, head of unit for antitrust case support and policy, gave the following key messages: The absence of legal deadlines creates certain … Continue Reading
The Covington US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Thursday 16 April. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update … Continue Reading
As previously reported on this blog, on 1 April 2020 Belgium adopted a complete ban on exports of certain medicines and raw materials to non-EEA countries to avoid shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak. On 8 April 2020, Belgium reversed this ban, and instead installed a system of export controls. Coincidentally or not, the same day … Continue Reading
The German government has proposed a new draft bill reforming the current foreign direct investment (“FDI”) regime, which is likely to have a significant impact on all M&A transactions involving acquisitions of 10% or more of the voting rights in German companies active in “critical infrastructures” and “critical technologies” by any non-EU investors. Under the … Continue Reading
The C&B US and EU Competition/Antitrust teams will be updating you regularly, through the Covington Competition blog, on the competition/antitrust law implications – both procedural and substantive – of the COVID-19 crisis in the US and the EU. This is our update for Thursday 9 April. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update … Continue Reading
Last week, the European Commission took a major step to implement the climate aspects of its European Green Deal. It presented a proposal for a European Climate Law and two consultations on its announced Climate Pact and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”). The European Commission intends to present a proposal for a CBAM by the … Continue Reading
Summary Next week, there will be a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Although the Treaties provide that the European Parliament’s plenary sessions must take place in Strasbourg, France, due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by coronavirus COVID-19, the plenary session will exceptionally take place in Brussels. Several significant debates and votes … Continue Reading
The European Commission has just adopted a Regulation that will lift the existing ban on imports of poultry meat from Ukraine that was triggered by the January 2020 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (“HPAI”) outbreak in the western part of the country. On January 19, 2020 the Ukrainian authorities informed the World Organization of Animal Health … Continue Reading
On February 19, the European Commission laid out its ambitious plans for regulating data, AI, and the digital sphere. These set the stage for the next five years’ work for President von der Leyen’s Commission in this critically important, and ever expanding, domain. Crucially, in its plans the Commission is making a concerted attempt to … Continue Reading
In his speech in Austin, Texas in 2019[1] and subsequent interviews,[2] the Chairman of the French Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) and former general rapporteur at the French Competition Authority, Sébastien Soriano, suggested that it is no longer appropriate to apply the “Schumpeterian paradigm” to technology companies that he characterised as having reached … Continue Reading
