Tags: Competition
The Belgian Competition Authority fines Novartis for abuse of collective dominance regarding eye disease medicines
On 23 January 2018, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) handed down its judgment (C-179/16) in relation to Novartis’ Lucentis® and Roche’s Avastin® eye disease medicines, and ruled that disseminating misleading information on the off-label use of a medicine could constitute a restriction of competition ‘by object’.
Belgium takes important step in introducing Foreign Direct Investment screening
On 1 June 2022, Belgium’s Federal and various Regional governments entered into a draft cooperation agreement to introduce a mechanism for screening Foreign Direct Investments (“FDI”).
The Omnibus Act: more transparency for consumers
On 28 May 2022, the Belgian law transposing EU Directive 2019/2161 into the Code of Economic Law entered into force (the “Omnibus Act”).
Modernisation of consumer law through the harmonisation of contracts for the sale of goods
On 31 March 2022, a legislative Act that makes considerable changes to the sale of consumer goods was published in the Belgian State Gazette.
Belgian competition act amended to transpose ECN+ directive into Belgian competition law and introduce merger filing fees fines for failure to notify and a number of procedural changes
On 17 March 2022, the Belgian Act transposing the ECN+ Directive and also introducing further amendments into the Belgian Competition Act entered into force.
Belgian competition authority hits pharmaceutical wholesalers with cartel fine
Belgian companies active in the pharmaceutical sector at different levels should beware of competition law.
New rules prohibiting unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain are entering into force
On 15 December 2021, a Belgian Act was published that implements the European Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relations in the agricultural and food supply chain.
European Commission publishes draft revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and Vertical Guidelines
On 9 July 2021, the European Commission published a draft version of its revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and the related Vertical Guidelines.
Procedural issues in investigations by competition authorities: practical application by the Belgian Competition Authority in its Caudalie decision
On 6 May 2021, the Belgian Competition Authority issued its decision against Caudalie and fined it for imposing resale prices upon and limiting the active and passive sales of its distributors.
The Belgian competition authority fines Caudalie EUR 859,310 for imposing resale prices and restricting active and passive sales
On 6 May 2021, the Belgian Competition Authority’s Competition College imposed a fine of EUR 859,310 on three undertakings of the Caudalie group.
The Belgian Competition Authority suspects Caudalie of imposing minimum resale prices on its distributors by determining a maximum discount level and of limiting its distributors’ active and passive online sales
Over the last 4 years, the Belgian Competition Authority (“BCA”) has increasingly scrutinised anticompetitive restraints in vertical agreements and assessed these restraints under Article IV.1 of the Belgian Code of Economic Law and Article 101 TFEU.
First Belgian ruling on abuse of economic dependence
First Belgian ruling on abuse of economic dependence: much looked forward too, little precedential value?