News
German Federal Cartel Office Prohibits Amazon’s Price-Control Mechanisms: A Landmark Decision on Hybrid Platforms – April 2026
On 5 February 2026, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt, “FCO”) announced a far-reaching prohibition directed at Amazon.com, Inc. (Seattle, USA) and Amazon EU S.à r.l. (Luxembourg) (together “Amazon”). The authority bars Amazon from using mechanisms that...
Protecting labour markets in the UK: Understanding the new law – March 2026
1. CMA guidance: labour markets are not an HR carve-out In recent years, competition authorities have turned their attention to anticompetitive practices in labour markets. Competition authorities have come to view businesses as being in competition to recruit and...
ATA consolidates its position in Europe as Band 1 in the Chambers & Partners Europe Guide 2026
The Antitrust Alliance (ATA) has been recognised, for the second consecutive year, as Band 1 – Competition/Antitrust Legal Network in the Chambers & Partners Europe Guide 2026, further strengthening its position as one of the leading European networks of law firms...
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 global leadership with Band 1 in Chambers & Partners Global Guide 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 2025
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...