National Competition Authority meaning

In this issue: Advertising, marketing and sponsorship Brexit Contracts International Sale and supply of goods Supplier management Supply of services LexTalk®Commercial: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Advertising, marketing and sponsorship The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released a practical compliance guide (the Guidance) on environmental claims for fashion brands, drawing on the principles in its Green Claims Code (the Code). It has also encouraged 17 fashion brands to revisit their green claims in light of the Guidance. In their article, Nigel Parr, partner, Christopher Eberhardt, counsel, and Olivia Spong, associate, at Ashurst, set out the main insights from the Guidance and consider the potential consequences for businesses both inside and beyond the fashion industry, including effects on internal procedures and engagement across supply chains. See News Analysis: CMA publishes guidance on environmental claims in the fashion sector. ASA rulings—2...

Private actions CAT refuses certification of collective proceedings against water companies The CAT handed down its judgment on a number of applications for collective proceedings orders (CPOs) issued by Professor Carolyn Roberts against six water and sewerage undertakers (Wises). She alleged the companies abused a dominant position by supplying misleading information to various regulatory bodies about the volume of pollution incidents on their networks. The CAT declined to certify the claims, finding that the abuse of dominance allegations were statute barred. Background In 2024, Professor Carolyn Roberts (the PCR) sought authorisation to bring collective proceedings on behalf of household customers of six Wises, claiming the undertakers under-reported pollution incidents (PIs) to the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). The PCR contended that this alleged understatement meant the Wises were able to charge higher prices than would have been allowed had accurate figures been reported...

In this issue: UK Competition Policy UK private actions UK Subsidy control EU State aid Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Caselex UK Competition Policy Caselex UK Competition Policy Doug Gurr appointed as interim Chair of CMA following resignation of Marcus Bokkerink The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the CMA published a joint press release confirming that the Secretary of State for Business and Trade has accepted the resignation of CMA Chair Marcus Bokkerink and named Doug Gurr as interim Chair. The release explains that the move followed a meeting between the Business Secretary and the Chancellor and senior regulators, who were urged to ‘tear down the barriers hindering business and refocus their efforts on promoting growth’. Gurr’s temporary appointment is described as being ‘in a bid to boost growth and support the economy’. Bokkerink embarked on a five-year term as CMA Chair in September 2022. Gurr currently serves as Director...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED This archived case hub sets out the position as at the judgment of 23 October 2017; it is no longer maintained. For more, see the timeline and relevant/related cases. Case facts ARCHIVE 26/10/2017 Outline An appeal to the General Court against the European Commission decision refusing VIMC’s complaint pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation 1/2003. Latest developments On 23 October 2017, the General Court handed down its judgment, rejecting in full the action to annul the European Commission’s decision to refuse VIMC’s complaint, on the basis that the matters raised were already being examined by a national competition authority (Case AT.40231). The General Court held that the Commission correctly applied the principles in Article 13(1) of Regulation 1/2003, exercising its discretion not to open an investigation because the Austrian national competition authority was already conducting one...

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in the Netherlands and across the globe are met, see further: Where to Notify 1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the Dutch merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues with the ACM? Media Following the Authority for Consumers and Market’s (ACM) prohibition of RTL’s proposed purchase of Talpa (two players in the Dutch television media market) on 30 January 2023, DPG Media announced plans to acquire RTL and filed the deal with the ACM. On 17 May 2024, the ACM concluded that the transaction merited deeper scrutiny and therefore referred the matter to the second (‘licence’) phase. On 18 July 2024, the parties submitted their application for the requisite licence. On 27 June 2025, the ACM issued conditional clearance for the merger in its DPG/RTL decision, imposing stringent behavioural commitments. Notably, the ACM factored media plurality into its competition analysis—an innovative development in Dutch merger control practice...

This table outlines all concluded investigations by Spain’s competition authority (the National Commission on Markets and Competition—the CNMC) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominance (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national equivalents) since 2018. Note—only investigations made public are included. 2026 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry: Professional hairdressing products • I.C.O.N Issues: Restrictive agreements—price fixing Developments: Infringement decision issued—12/01/2026; fines totalling €1.2m imposed Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Article 2 of the Spanish Competition Act Case name, companies under investigation and industry: Automotive fuels • Repsol Comercial de Productos Petrolíferos • Solred • Campsa Estaciones de Servicio Issues: Concerns the Repsol Group abused its dominant position through its pricing policy that squeezed the margins of independent low-cost petrol stations Developments: Infringement decision issued—03/02/2026; fines totalling €20.5 imposed 2025 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article 1 of the Spanish Competition Act ...