EU Competition Law
Compliance and consistency – Effective tool for market opening – High level of risk
Competition law is one of the most visible and feared (if not always respected) EU laws. Competition law compliance has moved centre stage in the decision-making processes of all multi-national businesses and many national and local businesses also.
Compliance with competition law requires much more than remembering simple, basic rules. It requires a detailed understanding of how such rules should be applied in the specific sector in which individual businesses operate.
Failure to comply exposes companies to high risks and individuals to the potential for both civil and criminal liability. These same rules can be used pro-actively as a tool to achieve market access.
Our lawyers have considerable experience, across many sectors in the following areas of EU competition law:
- EU Merger Control – acting both on behalf of notifying parties and for interested (third) parties
- Complaint Procedures
- Cartel investigations – including dawn raids
- Judicial appeals to the European Courts
- State aid policy.
In addition our lawyers have specific experience of applying EU competition law in the following sectors:
- Maritime transport
- Air transport and ground handling
- Rail transport
- Nuclear
- Former ECSC products
industrial and chemical products.
With the ongoing decentralisation of EU competition policy and the growing importance of the role and work of national competition authorities, our lawyers are increasingly called upon to advise and/or coordinate the provision of advice at both EU and national levels. Our recent work has involved advising in connection with proceedings, investigations or actions in: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Romania, Italy and Belgium.