Philipp Werner, Henry De La Barre, Kristina Music

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 8 (2024), Issue 1, Page 23 - 37

This article provides an overview of the main features and implications of the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), which entered into force in 2023 to address the distortive effects of foreign subsidies on the EU internal market. It discusses the key concepts and thresholds for the notification and review of transactions and public procurement procedures involving foreign financial contributions, as well as the ex officio investigation tool and enforcement powers of the European Commission (EC). The article also highlights the challenges and uncertainties that the FSR poses for companies and their counsel, and the need for further guidance and clarification from the EC. The article looks at the decision practice and case law in related areas of EU law, such as State aid, trade, and competition law, to analyse the principles and procedures of the FSR. Keywords: Foreign subsidies; EU filing; public procurement

Rita Paukštė

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 6 (2022), Issue 2, Page 143 - 146

Ana Mihaljević

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 6 (2022), Issue 4, Page 322 - 324

Laurens Vandercruysse, Caroline Buts, Michaël Dooms

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 5 (2021), Issue 2, Page 102 - 111

Through the adoption of the European Union’s Digital Strategy, the European Commission aims to tackle pressing issues specific to markets of data-intensive services. One of these issues is the substantial and durable competitive advantage that emerges from having exclusive access to large sets of data. The Digital Markets Act proposal, a prime pillar of the Digital Strategy, allows for the identification of gatekeepers. These gatekeepers would then be subject to additional obligations, for example enabling wider data access. This article focuses on the market for smart city services and proposes the adoption of a more proactive approach through public procurement. We argue the onus should be on preventing service providers from becoming gatekeepers, rather than attempting to repair a competitive space once a gatekeeper has arisen. Keywords: smart city, public procurement, data protection, data sharing, EU Digital Strategy

Karlijn de Groes, Tim Raats

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 5 (2021), Issue 2, Page 142 - 145

Friso Bostoen, Nina Colpaert, Wouter Devroe, Joris Gruyters, Lennard Michaux, Liesbet Van Acker

European Competition and Regulatory Law Review, Volume 4 (2020), Issue 2, Page 72 - 95

The outbreak of the coronavirus—and the responses of governments and businesses to combat the medical and economic crisis it entails—raise a number of urgent questions, many of which concern European economic law, ie the competition rules and free movement provisions. Can businesses cooperate to guarantee the supply of essential items or a vaccine notwithstanding the cartel prohibition of Article 101 TFEU? Is the excessive price doctrine of Article 102 TFEU a match for the price increases caused by hoarding behaviour? Can competition authorities continue to assess mergers, and might they even become more sympathetic to certain arguments such as the failing firm defence and industrial policy considerations? Under which conditions are Member States allowed to grant aid to undertakings that face economic difficulties due to the crisis? Can Member States prohibit the export of medical supplies to other Member States, and can they close their borders for European citizens? And how much freedom do public procurement rules leave governments to quickly conclude contracts for essential supplies? This article addresses these pressing questions in a comprehensive manner. It situates the numerous guidance documents adopted by the European Commission within the broader framework of EU economic law and then evaluates the compatibility of the public and private corona-related measures with that framework. The aim is to offer a legal guide for governments and businesses combatting the corona crisis. Keywords: corona; EU economic law; competition law; internal market law; public procurement