Brexit And Antitrust Law (Video)

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 imposed interim measures requiring Meta to restore third-party AI assistant access to WhatsApp's Business API, marking a significant enforcement action under Article 102 TFEU. This decision addresses Meta's alleged abuse of dominant position by excluding competing AI assistants while maintaining access only for its own Meta AI. The case raises critical questions about competition enforcement in emerging digital markets and whether early foreclosure effects can irreversibly streng

On 30 April 2026, the European Commission published its recast 2026 draft merger guidelines, which would replace the current horizontal and non-horizontal regime with a single, unified framework...

The European Commission has adopted its first comprehensive Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 TFEU, marking a significant evolution in EU competition law enforcement. Following a three-year consultation process, these Guidelines codify evolving case law while addressing concerns about enforcement thresholds and introducing notable changes including the reintroduction of a 40% market share benchmark, refined evidentiary presumptions, and expanded guidance on digital markets and

The European Commission has published new Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU exclusionary conduct, replacing the 2008 Guidance with a more structured framework built around dominance assessment, competition distortion principles, conduct-specific analytical frameworks, and objective justifications.

The EU General Court's landmark judgment in Booking Holdings v Commission marks a pivotal shift in merger control enforcement, validating the European Commission's authority to block conglomerate mergers based on ecosystem strengthening and market contestability concerns. This decision establishes that even marginal market share increases in adjacent markets can justify prohibition when they entrench dominance and reduce competitive dynamics.

The EU General Court has upheld the European Commission's prohibition of Booking's acquisition of Etraveli, marking the first judicial endorsement of an "ecosystem" theory of harm in merger control. This landmark ruling validates the EC's use of reverse leveraging and entrenchment theories, establishing that dominant firms can be blocked from acquiring assets in adjacent markets even where they lack dominance in the target's market. The decision has far-reaching implications for digital platform acquisition

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.

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 Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has clarified that a supplier must actively agree with its other distributors that a territory is exclusively reserved if it wants to appoint exclusively a distributor for that territory.