On the heels of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions, and U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, 2022 accelerated a sweeping effort within the U.S. government to make national security considerations—especially with respect to China—a key feature of new and existing regulatory processes. This trend toward broader national security regulation, designed to help maintain U.S.
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Building a sustainability strategy – what companies can (not) do from a competition law perspective
Sustainability governs all policies and sectors of social and economic life. The goal of sustainable development is to meet the needs of today’s generations without compromising the self-sufficiency of future generations. Companies are called upon to innovate as economic conditions indicate a change in the direction of sustainability. Sustainability considerations and green developments have increasingly…
FDI regulators show their teeth – Close scrutiny and firm intervention in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine
Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine is broadly impacting foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening. A range of governments have announced they will apply close scrutiny to investments from Russia and its allied countries in general, and not only to investors that are subject to sanctions or other restrictive measures. The European Commission (“Commission”) has published guidance…
Trends, developments and divergence from EU law? The CMA’s first year as a global competition authority
When the UK left the EU on 31 December 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) gained new powers, functions and responsibilities previously exclusively reserved to the European Commission (the “Commission”).
This blog explores how the CMA has tackled its increased workload in the first year post-Brexit, under the shadow of the global pandemic, and…
Dawn raids in the EU are back in full swing
Now that the COVID 19 pandemic seems to be – at least temporarily – under control, competition authorities in Europe have gone back to performing dawn raids on companies in the second half of 2021.
Legal Context
Unannounced inspections at the premises of companies are part of the investigative toolkit of the European Commission (the…
Foreign Direct Investment Regulation: EU M&A after one year of the FDI Regulation
In M&A and other transactions, conditions associated with foreign direct investment (“FDI”) filings are becoming more common place, and investors are adjusting to the diligence, disclosure and time associated with obtaining FDI clearances. In the EU, the introduction of wider-ranging FDI laws has been rapid, and freshly empowered national regulators in the Member States are…
Amended GBER simplifies State aid rules for projects supporting the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
Introduction
On 23 July 2021, the European Commission (“Commission”) adopted an extension of the scope of the General Block Exemption Regulation (“GBER”). The revised rules concern:
- Aid for projects funded via certain EU centrally managed programmes under the new Multiannual Financial Framework; and
- Certain State aid measures that support the green and digital
…
Competition Law Asia-Pacific Conference
On 13-14 July, Covington’s Peter Camesasca and Sophie Bertin participated in panels discussing developments in Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) and Competition enforcement and compliance at the annual Competition Law Asia-Pacific Conference.
Foreign Direct Investment Regimes
On the first day of the conference, Covington partner Peter Camesasca moderated a group of diverse panellists on recent…
Emerging Trends in UK Competition Law Vlog Series – Part IV: Horizon Scanning
Covington’s four-part video series offers snapshot briefings on key emerging trends in UK Competition Law. In part four, James Marshall and Sophie Albrighton look across the horizon at the CMA’s plans for the future: what are the proposed reforms for competition law in the UK, what is the CMA looking to do post-pandemic, what are…
What you need to know about the CMA’s consultation on the Retained Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation
The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) is consulting on its proposed recommendation to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to replace the retained Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (“retained VABER”) with a new UK Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order (“VABEO”).
The retained VABER is the European Commission Regulation No 330/2010, which…