Tags: Competition
100 Deals, Zero Rejections: What Belgium’s FDI Report for 2024-2025 Reveals
The Belgian Interfederal Screening Commission (ISC) has released its Annual Report on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Screening 2024–2025, providing valuable insights into how the country has tried between July 2024 and June 2025 to navigate the fine line between remaining an open economy and safeguarding its strategic interests. Almost no corrective measures During this second […]
Combination therapies in Belgium: how to collaborate without breaching competition law
As the landscape of modern medicine evolves, combination therapies—those that use two or more distinct medicines, often from different companies—are becoming increasingly vital, especially in treating complex diseases like cancer. These therapies promise improved clinical outcomes through synergistic mechanisms of action. However, the reimbursement process for such therapies presents significant regulatory and legal challenges, particularly […]
Sports federations again under Belgian Competition Authority scrutiny in two interim measures proceedings
The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has recently ruled on two requests for interim measures against sports federations. Both decisions again highlight that competition rules apply to sports federations and show that interim measures procedures before the BCA can be a powerful tool to change market behaviour before a decision on the merits is taken, even if no interim measures are imposed.
Category Captains beware!: Belgian competition authority fines Category Management of OTC medicines
On 24 April 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) announced a landmark decision imposing fines totaling over €11.2 million on three major pharmaceutical companies for their involvement in a long-running anti-competitive arrangement concerning the placement of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in Belgian pharmacies..
The Belgian Competition Authority intensifies its fight against bid rigging – with physical persons also to be prosecuted
On 21 September 2024, the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Belgian Competition authority (“BCA”) publicly announced that in the BCA’s investigations into agreements concerning subsidies granted for the delivery of newspapers and magazines in Belgium the BCA will for the first time also be prosecuting physical persons.
New guidelines for the Belgian rules on foreign direct investment
Since 1 July 2023, the Belgian rules on the screening of foreign direct investments (“FDI”) have been in force. As the decisions of the Interfederal Screening Commission (“ISC”) are not published, the rules’ application and interpretation still raise a lot of legal uncertainty. On 4 April 2024, the ISC published guidelines to provide further clarification.
Hospital mergers no longer subject to the Belgian Competition Authority’s prior review
The legislator has now had the last word, by providing that, in principle, hospital mergers are no longer subject to the BCA’s prior review and approval.
The Act of 19 March 2024 gives new powers to the Belgian Competition Authority to support the European Commission’s competences under the Digital Markets Act
The Act primarily grants more powers to the BCA to improve its efficiency and allow it to adequately support the EC when the latter applies and enforces the DMA.
Belgian Competition Authority fines kitchen accessories company Le Creuset for resale price maintenance
The Belgian Competition Authority has fined Le Creuset EUR 490,112 for having implemented a resale price maintenance policy.
2023 Belgian Competition Law round-up
In the following article, our Competition law experts guide you through the key events in Competition law from 2023.
Size matters: pornographic websites Pornhub, Xvideos and Stripchat designated as Very Large Online Platforms
On 20 December 2023, the European Commission designated Pornhub, Xvideos and Stripchat, three widely-used porn sites, as ‘very large online platforms’ under the new Digital Services Act.
Denouement in the “Belgian Towercast Case”: the Belgian Competition Authority terminates its proceedings against Proximus following the divestiture of EDPnet to Citymesh
On 6 November 2023, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) announced that it had closed its investigation into a possible abuse of dominance by Proximus following the sale of EDPnet to Citymesh.