News
The Belgian competition authority’s focus on BID RIGGING: Fines imposed on physical persons and guide on bid rigging issued for public consultation – February 2026
The Belgian Competition Authority ("BCA") has in recent years made bid rigging a central enforcement priority, and its actions are beginning to speak louder than its words. What was once signalled as an intention - most notably the Chief Public Prosecutor's...
ATA renews its Band 1 ranking in Chambers & Partners 2026
The Antitrust Alliance (ATA) has once again been ranked Band 1 in the Competition/Antitrust – Legal Network (Europe) category by Chambers & Partners in its Global Guide 2026. For more than 10 consecutive years, ATA has maintained its Band 1 position — a reflection...
Merger Control – Call-in Model and Recent Discussions in Slovakia – January 2026
A. Current Legal Framework Currently, merger notification thresholds in Slovakia are based solely on objective criteria, namely the achievement of prescribed turnover thresholds by the parties to a concentration. Recently, the Slovak Antimonopoly Office (“AMO”)...
Lithuanian Competition Council sharpens its focus on anticompetitive agreements in labour markets – December 2025
Employers must be aware not only of the Labour Code, but also of the Law on Competition [1]. This is what the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: the Competition Council) expressed most recently in their public statements [2]. In light of...
Amsterdam District Court: final arbitral award constitutes unlawful state aid
Several years ago, Spain was ordered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to pay compensation to two Dutch undertakings. Although the arbitral award had become final, the Amsterdam District Court (District Court) ruled in a judgment dated 5 February...
No-poach agreements in labor markets – November 2026
No-poach agreements are arrangements between two or more employers not to hire each other’s employees. These may take the form of ‘no-hire agreements’, which prohibit both active or passive hiring of employees from other parties, or ‘non-solicit agreements’, when the...
Ireland CCPC Annual Report 2024: Competition Law Trends and Takeaways
Has Ireland’s competition watchdog found its teeth? The CCPC’s 2024 Annual Report shows a regulator that’s faster, tougher, and bolder than ever. Merger reviews jumped 21 percent, capped by a rare prohibition of Dublin Airport Authority’s QuickPark deal. Dawn raids, cartel prosecutions, and new dominance probes underline an authority unafraid to act. Armed with fresh powers to levy administrative fines, the CCPC now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its European peers. And from January 2025, the new FDI Screening Act brings national-security reviews into the mix. For dealmakers and boards, Ireland is now a high-alert jurisdiction demanding serious competition compliance.
Estonia Completes Transposition of the ECN+ Directive – October 2025
In July 2025, Estonia finalised the long-awaited transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1 (the ECN+ Directive) into national law, making it one of the last EU Member States to do so. The reform introduces a new administrative enforcement regime (in Estonian:...
BBF v SLB: Competition Law and Governance on trial in British Basketball – September 2025
British basketball faces a landmark legal clash as the British Basketball Federation and Super League Basketball dispute control of the professional league. The case tests the limits of competition law on sporting regulators, compliance with public governance standards, and the sport’s ability to rebuild trust, investment, and long-term stability.