Brexit And Antitrust Law (Video)

The European Commission has introduced comprehensive Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU addressing abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings. These Guidelines establish a three-stage assessment framework covering market dominance determination, competitive distortion analysis, and objective justification examination. The framework provides detailed analytical approaches for various forms of exclusionary conduct including predatory pricing, margin squeeze, exclusive dealing, and self-preferencing, wh

On 3 September 2026, the European Commission adopted new Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings. The Guidelines follow a public consultation on a draft published in August 2024 and reflect substantial stakeholder feedback.

The European Commission has issued Statements of Objections to construction chemicals manufacturers in France, Germany and Spain, along with three national trade associations, over suspected price coordination. The preliminary assessment suggests manufacturers coordinated future price increases for chemical additives and admixtures between 2021 and 2022 in response to rising raw material costs following the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war against Ukraine.

The European Commission has determined that Google violated the Digital Markets Act through anti-competitive practices in its Search and Play services. The investigation revealed systematic preferential treatment...

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that national competition authorities may seize business emails during dawn raids without prior court authorization, provided the seizures are legally grounded and strictly limited to the inspection's subject matter. While the decision grants authorities significant power, it establishes important safeguards, particularly for mixed-use devices containing both professional and private data, which may require prior judicial review before access is permitted

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a landmark ruling clarifying the extent to which National Competition Authorities can seize business emails and access employees' personal devices during antitrust inspections. The judgment addresses the critical balance between effective competition enforcement and fundamental rights to privacy and data protection, establishing new procedural safeguards that will impact how dawn raids are conducted across the EU.

The European Commission has delivered its first three-year review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, declaring the enforcement framework "fit for purpose" while acknowledging significant administrative burden on market participants. Though the regime has processed thousands of notifications since 2023, resulting in only a handful of in-depth investigations, the Commission has committed to targeted procedural simplifications expected in 2027, even as it doubles down on scrutinizing state-backed acquirers a

Goodwin Procter LLP submits detailed observations on the European Commission's draft merger control guidelines, identifying four critical areas where current drafting risks undermining legal certainty: the innovation shield's failure to operate as a genuine safe harbour, insufficient evidentiary boundaries for reverse killer acquisition theories, lack of limiting principles in entrenchment and ecosystem theories, and unworkable compliance obligations regarding common ownership by institutional investors.

McDermott Will & Schulte and Brunswick Group examine the European Commission's most significant reassessment of EU merger control in over two decades, exploring how the draft guidelines aim to modernise enforcement for digital markets, innovation and competitiveness. The discussion reveals key procedural shifts including the introduction of a "theory of benefit" framework and what businesses should prepare for as the final guidelines approach publication.

The European Commission has launched its first formal antitrust investigation in the medical devices sector, examining whether Align Technology may have abused its dominant position by restricting interoperability between its Invisalign clear aligners and competing intra-oral scanners. The investigation focuses on allegations that the company created a closed ecosystem, forcing dental professionals to purchase iTero scanners to access Invisalign products for their patients.