Competition/antitrust

Recent Articles

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  27.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  Collaborating with competitors? The CMA issues final guidance on horizontal agreements

  Competition authorities have long sought to strike the right balance between preventing illegal forms of collaboration and allowing businesses to cooperate in a way that will foster innovation and promote competition. Two recent developments have increased the need for greater clarity on permitted forms of so-called ‘horizontal agreements’, specifically: (i) the ‘cost-of-living’ crisis increasing pressure to meet consumer demands for lower prices; and (ii) calls for better ESG and innovation.Horizontal agreements, for example for research & development, can deliver a...

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  21.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  CMA launches review into veterinary services market

  On 7 September 2023, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has launched a review into the veterinary services market for household pets in the UK (i.e. small animals such as dogs and cats). The CMA intends to explore how well the market is working for pet owners who are paying for veterinary services, including whether they are receiving the necessary information to obtain appropriate treatment for their pets. The CMA is carrying out this review pursuant to its general information-gathering powers in section 5 of the Enterprise Act 2002.Almost two-thirds of households in...

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  20.09.2023

  United Kingdom

  “Conduct requirements” and “Pro-Com­pet­i­tion In­ter­ven­tions”: New tools in the CMA’s proposed digital regime toolbox

  This is the third in a series of articles analysing specific features of the digital and competition reforms contained in the recently published Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill (the Bill).  It follows our first in the series which looked specifically at merger control changes (available here) and our update on which entities will be in scope as “SMS firms” (available here). For our initial ‘first impressions’ overview of the reforms introduced by the Bill, please click here.We examine below the powers the regulator will have available in order to regulate...

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  14.09.2023

  Ukraine

  Ukraine parliament moves forward with competition law reform

  On 9 August 2023, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving the Activities of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine”.This Law, a first step in competition law reform, brings Ukraine’s antimonopoly regulations closer to EU law following the nation’s obligations under its Association Agreement with the EU.The Law primarily focuses on:dawn-raids and broadens the scope of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) powers;the AMCU’s independence;significant amendments to AMCU investigation procedures;introduction...

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  11.09.2023

  Belgium

  Priorities of the Belgian Competition Authority for 2023

  The Belgian Competition Authority (the “BCA”) adopted on 30 May 2023 its annual communication setting out its policy priorities for the current year. It was published with a slight delay on 20 July 2023.This publication, which has existed since 2014, explains how the BCA selects its formal investigations and describes its strategic and sectoral priorities for competition policy.In its communication, the BCA highlights the price increases in the energy sector, global inflation, ongoing international geopolitical tensions, supply problems with China and the adverse financial environment....

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  05.09.2023

  Oman

  The New Oman Social Protection Fund Law - Key Changes

  The Sultanate of Oman as a welfare state has for long operated under the old Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI) Law (Royal Decree 72/9). Recently however, Oman has enacted the novel Social Protection Fund Law (SPFL) (Royal Decree 52/2023) in an attempt to enhance its social welfare framework by creating a single and unified social protection fund that improves financing and provides a wide range of benefits to workers and their families. This article provides an overview of some of the key aspects of the new law and compares it with its repealed predecessor, by highlighting the key impacts...

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