Covington Competition

The Covington View

June 24, 2020

On June 22, 2020, the UK Government introduced legislation to Parliament that further strengthens its ability to intervene in transactions on national security and other public interest grounds. Specifically, the UK Government has sought additional powers to intervene in transactions where there is need to preserve the capability of the UK to respond to a public health emergency or mitigate its effects. These new powers relating to public health emergencies came into effect on June…

Covington Competition

The New Normal? EU Commission Prepares a New Competition Enforcement Tool Aiming at Structural Competition Concerns

By Johan Ysewyn & Martin Juhasz

June 22, 2020

The European Commission (”Commission”) is preparing the ground for a new competition enforcement tool. This new tool could substantially extend the competition authority’s current enforcement powers and allow for far-reaching intervention where the Commission identifies structural competition concerns. In particular, following the proposal, the standard for intervention could be lowered significantly as the Commission may no longer be required to establish dominance in order to impose behavioural or structural remedies on a company. Executive Vice-President…

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European Commission publishes White Paper on the Review of Foreign Subsidies – [New/More] Intervention Powers ahead?

By Peter Camesasca, Horst Henschen, Martin Juhasz & Katherine Kingsbury

June 18, 2020

On 17 June 2020 the European Commission (“Commission”) published a White Paper on new enforcement powers regarding foreign subsidies. This initiative pursues two objectives, first it sets out a general policy approach for foreign subsidies, and second, it provides a number of proposals to address a perceived regulatory gap. More specifically, the White Paper suggests new tools to manage what the Commission regards as unfair competition and other distortions of competition within the internal market caused by…

Covington Competition

The General Court Annuls the Commission’s Decision to Block the Acquisition of Telefónica UK by Hutchison 3G UK – a Landmark Judgment for EU Merger Control?

By Johan Ysewyn & Wesley Lepla

June 15, 2020

On 28 May 2020, the EU’s General Court (“GC”) annulled the European Commission’s (“Commission”) decision of 11 May 2016 in which the Commission had prohibited the acquisition of Telefónica UK (“O2”) by Hutchison 3G UK (“Three”). It is the first time the EU Courts interpreted the EU Merger Regulation in so-called “gap-cases”, i.e., concentrations in oligopolistic markets which do not result in the creation or strengthening of an individual or collective dominant position. In the…

Covington Competition

Regulation of Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) gathers Pace across Europe – A Week of Change.

By Peter Camesasca, Horst Henschen, Katherine Kingsbury & Martin Juhasz

June 1, 2020

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 reported in our previous alert –the past week manifested a number of legislative activities across Europe. In this blog,…

Covington Competition

COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (29 May 2020)

By Covington Competition

May 29, 2020

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 update are highlighted – these are the headlines: Today’s US update: The FTC’s Director of the Bureau of Competition…

Covington Competition

French Public and Administrative Authorities Take Action on Climate Change

By Johan Ysewyn, Rolf Ali & Barbara Monti

May 28, 2020

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 and carrying out their missions, and describe their levers for action.…

Covington Competition

Sustainability and Competition: Covington Assists Unilever on Submission to European Competition Authorities on the Competition Implications of Sustainability Cooperation

By Johan Ysewyn, Kevin Coates & Laura Corbett

May 27, 2020

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, seeking to make the subject as concrete and tangible as possible from an industry perspective. The paper tries to integrate…

Covington Competition

European Commission Adopts Measures Aimed at Mitigating the Effects of COVID-19 in the Agri-Food Sector

By Johan Ysewyn & Rolf Ali

May 18, 2020

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission (“EC”) is taking steps to stabilise the most affected sectors of the economy. As part of its efforts, the EC has announced its support for the agricultural and food sectors which are severely affected by the pandemic. This includes an exceptional derogation from the EU competition rules for certain sub-sectors.…

Covington Competition

COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (12 May 2020)

By Covington Competition

May 12, 2020

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 Tuesday 12 May 2020. Today’s new updates as compared to the previous update are highlighted – these are the headlines: Today’s EU updates: On 8 May 2020, the European Commission adopted…

Covington Competition

The Covington View

Blog Authors

UK Introduces Targeted New Powers to Scrutinise Foreign Investment

The New Normal? EU Commission Prepares a New Competition Enforcement Tool Aiming at Structural Competition Concerns

European Commission publishes White Paper on the Review of Foreign Subsidies – [New/More] Intervention Powers ahead?

The General Court Annuls the Commission’s Decision to Block the Acquisition of Telefónica UK by Hutchison 3G UK – a Landmark Judgment for EU Merger Control?

Regulation of Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) gathers Pace across Europe – A Week of Change.

COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (29 May 2020)

French Public and Administrative Authorities Take Action on Climate Change

Sustainability and Competition: Covington Assists Unilever on Submission to European Competition Authorities on the Competition Implications of Sustainability Cooperation

European Commission Adopts Measures Aimed at Mitigating the Effects of COVID-19 in the Agri-Food Sector

COVID 19 – US and EU Competition Law Implications (12 May 2020)

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