Corruption and unlawful influence undermine fair competition in the market, discouraging legitimate companies from investing in business development. To combat these challenges, the Swedish Government has introduced the Action Plan Against Corruption and Unlawful Influence for 2024-2027 (Sw. Handlin...
Earlier this week the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) published its long-awaited judgment in the joined cases C-611/22 P Illumina v Commission and C-625/22 P Grail v Commission concerning the European Commission’s powers to review mergers that fall under the thresholds of both EU...
On 1 August 2024, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (Sw. Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap) published its revised guidelines (MSBFS 2024:8) listing types of essential services that fall under the scope of the Swedish Act on Foreign Direct Investments (the “FDI Act”). The revised guide...
Introduction Despite the increasing number of adopted sanctions, targeting not only Russia and Russian entities, but also, Iran, North Korea, among other jurisdictions, the European Union (the “EU”) has taken note of frequent breaches of sanctions combined with incoherent enforcement at Member State...
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (the “FSR”), which is applicable in the EU since 12 July 2023, allows the European Commission (the “Commission”) to investigate and to take action against companies that receive financial support from non-EU governments deemed to distort competition within the EU sin...
The impacts of sanctions have increased during the last few years and not the least the ones targeting Russia. Most companies, regardless of where their manufacturing takes place or where their suppliers or customers are located, need to consider the impact of sanctions when entering into all sorts...
Following a European Commission proposal in 2022 for a regulation banning products made with forced labour, the EU legislators reached an agreement on 4 March 2024 to adopt a regulation that will ban such products from the EU (the “Regulation”). According to the International Labour Organization, ne...
Introduction and background On 8 February 2024, the European Commission (the “Commission”) adopted a revised Market Definition Notice (the “Notice”). Defining a relevant market is a necessary step when assessing the market power of an undertaking in merger control and antitrust cases. This provides...
On 26 January 2024, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published a report, providing an overview of the enforcement of the EU competition rules by the Commission and the National Competition Authorities (“NCA”) in the pharmaceutical sector during the period 2018 – 2022. The scrutiny of...
In response to escalating geopolitical tensions and revolutionary technological changes, the European Commission (the “Commission”) has recently introduced a set of initiatives to enhance the economic security of the European Union (the “EU”). These measures which includes a new regulation as well a...
On 20 December 2023, the Swedish Competition Authority (“SCA”) issued a decision against a manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom faucets and showers for having fixed the prices and terms for the online resale of its products, i.e. resale price maintenance (“RPM”). The fine of MSEK 16.9 (approximately...
On 21 December 2023, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) rendered its judgement in case C-333/21, European Super League. The case concerns a request for a preliminary ruling from a Spanish court asking whether certain rules set by the football governing bodies FIFA and UEFA violate EU competition...