Competition & Foreign Investment
Blog

Authors

Dr. Bernhard Kofler-Senoner, LL.M.

Dr. Bernhard Kofler-Senoner, LL.M.

CV | E-Mail

Dr. Anna Wolf-Posch, LL.M.

Dr. Anna Wolf-Posch, LL.M.

CV | E-Mail

MMag. Dr. Michael Mayer

MMag. Dr. Michael Mayer

CV | E-Mail

Mag. Philipp Schaubach, LL.M.

Mag. Philipp Schaubach, LL.M.

CV | E-Mail

Mag. Zakar Stepanyan

Mag. Zakar Stepanyan

CV | E-Mail

Mag. Benno Šiftar, LL.M.

Mag. Benno Šiftar, LL.M.

CV | E-Mail

New due diligence obligations under the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act

The "Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains" (Gesetz über die unternehmerischen Sorgfaltsverpflichtungen in Lieferketten; hereafter "Supply Chain Due Dili-gence Act") entered into force in Germany on 1 January 2023.

Newsbulletin January 2023

Newsbulletin December

Newsbulletin

Up & Coming – Luxembourg's Foreign Investment Control Regime

Recently, a bill was introduced in Luxembourg's parliament seeking to set up a national screening mechanism for foreign direct investment in Luxembourg.

The AFCA publishes guidelines on the Austrian sustainability exemption

In September last year, the Austrian legislator in-corporated a sustainability exemption into Austrian competition law ("Sustainability Exemption"). This was unprecedented given that, so far, the competi-tion authorities in the Netherlands and Greece had only issued vision documents, discussion papers and guidelines on the components of cooperation to increase sustainability between competitors.

Sector inquiry into the Bulgarian e-commerce market

The Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (“CPC”) recently announced the opening of an investigation into the national e-commerce market for consumer goods and services. The sector inquiry comes as no surprise given the increased dynamics and the rapid growth of consumer e-commerce during the pandemic coupled with certain competition law infringements which were identified and sanctioned by the CPC in recent proceedings.

New upcoming changes to Czech competition law

This article deals with the amendment (the "Amendment") of Act No. 143/2001 Coll., on the Protection of Competition (the "Competition Act"), which is currently being discussed by the Government of the Czech Republic, and is expected to come into force in January 2023. The Amendment's main objectives are: a) the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1 of the European Parliament and of the Council to empower the competition authorities of the Member States to be more effective enforcers and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market (the "ECN+ Directive"); and b) the introduction of various other changes to Czech competition legislation, such as the extension of leniency programmes to vertical agreements, the clarification of terminology regarding the settlement process, the possibility of the Czech Competition Office (the "Office") to propose commitments in favour of preserving competition, and joint and several liability of competitors forming a single competitor for offences.

The revised VBER – New competition rules for supply and distribution chains

On 10 May 2022, the European Commission ended a four-year review and consultation period with the adoption of the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation ("VBER") and Guidelines on Vertical Restraints ("VGL") . The new VBER and VGL will enter into force on 1 June 2022 and should remain in force for the next twelve years. Contracts already in force on 31 May 2022 will need to be brought into line with the new rules within a transitional period of one year. The VBER serves as important guidance for companies when performing self-assessment under Article 101(3) TFEU. It is directly applicable and provides meaningful safe harbours, since it creates a rebuttable presumption that the agree-ments are in compliance with the conditions laid down in Article 101(3) TFEU.

Leniency: a stricter approach in Hungary?

The Hungarian Competition Authority (‘HCA’) somewhat deviated from its previous practice in a recent decision and clarified in greater detail what is expected of leniency applicants in order to receive immunity or a reduced fine. We summarize the new approach of the HCA below.