Ordinary legislative procedure (EU) meaning

The ordinary legislative process The ordinary law-making procedure is the usual route for adopting EU laws. Owing to the unique...

Mergers The Commission approved Brookfield Corporation’s takeover of sole control of Oaktree Capital Group Holdings, LLC (M.12284) following a phase I review—see further, Midday Express The Commission received filings for: Clarios/Ecobat Germany/Ecobat Austria (M.12145) (ordinary merger procedure) JLL/PIF/FMTECH (M.12358) (simplified merger procedure) NOTE—For all active merger probes before the Commission, see further, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Competition policy The Commission stated that Executive Vice-President, Teresa Ribera, convened an implementation dialogue on the effects of mergers, productivity, sustainability, and the cost of living—see further, implementation dialogue and Midday Express NOTE—For all current EU competition law legislative, guidance and wider policy work, see further, EU competition horizon scanning—2026 and beyond State aid The Commission adopted a decision under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) authorising a Spanish measure (valued at €200m) to back strategic investments expanding manufacturing capacity across the electric...

In this issue: Designs Copyright Patents Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Designs No account of profits for unjustified threats of IP infringement proceedings (Luxe World v Touch of Vogue) The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court in Luxe World Ltd v Touch of Vogue Ltd [2026] EWHC 148 (IPEC) determined that an account of profits cannot be awarded for claims concerning unjustified threats under sections 26–26F of the Registered Designs Act 1949. This approach appears equally applicable to comparable statutory unjustified threats provisions across other IP laws. A practical upshot is that the strategy drawn from Lifestyle Equities v Sportsdirect.com Retail [2016] EWHC 2092 (Ch) cannot be used to postpone payment of the substantial court fee where the monetary claim is unquantified. Authored by Michael Smith, barrister at Three Stone. See News Analysis: No account of profits for unjustified threats of IP infringement proceedings (Luxe World...

This Practice Note charts the progress of legislative and policy changes in the UK’s continuing overhaul of competition in digital markets since 2018. Following Royal Assent of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024) on 24 May 2024, this Practice Note has stopped tracking developments on that Act; these are now contained in: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill—progress tracker. Going forward, it will continue to capture all other digital markets developments, except those relating to the DMCCA 2024. EU regulation At EU level, the European Commission has brought forward proposals to ensure digital markets remain fair and open, namely: the Digital Services Act (DSA) the Digital Markets Act (DMA) If enacted, the DMA would introduce wide‑ranging reforms to the application of EU competition law to the largest digital platforms. For details on the DMA’s progress through the ordinary legislative procedure, see further, EU Digital Markets Act—progress tracker. Promoting competition and innovation in digital markets CMA...

EU law The EU’s central aim of bringing Europe together rests solely on the rule of law. EU law forms a distinct, independent legal order, taking precedence (or supremacy) over domestic legal rules. Numerous principal actors are responsible for implementing, supervising and further developing this framework, to which a variety of procedures apply. In broad terms, EU law comprises three separate yet interlinked tiers of legislation: primary, secondary and tertiary. The EU’s body of law in its entirety is known as the ‘acquis communautaire’. Categories and areas of EU competence ‘Competence’ denotes the EU’s authority to undertake specific action where that authority is granted by the Member States through the EU Treaties. The EU’s competences are set out in those Treaties, which provide the foundation for any action taken by EU institutions and define the scope of their measures. The Union may act only within the limits of competences conferred by the Treaties; where no competence is conferred, it remains with the Member States. The Treaty of...

The amendment of the EU Treaties is essential for the development of the European Union This enables the Union’s laws and policies to be adjusted over time to fresh challenges that the EU must confront, and to deepen the level of integration already attained. Prior to the Lisbon Treaty taking effect, there was only a single route available for revising the Treaties. That path mandated a compulsory Intergovernmental Conference (IGC), meaning a conference of representatives of the governments of the Member States, convened by the President of the Council on a compulsory basis. In light of the protracted period required to reach agreement on Lisbon, its authors opted to permit, in the years ahead, limited Treaty changes without the obligation to hold an IGC. The Lisbon Treaty also amended the ordinary revision process slightly, by strengthening the involvement of the European Parliament and of Member States’ national parliaments. In addition, it established two categories of simplified procedures designed to make it easier to amend particular provisions of the Treaties....