Legislation

The European Commission has adopted an amendment to the Guidelines on Regional State aid (‘RAG') to allow Member States to grant higher amounts of regional aid for investment projects covered by the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (‘STEP'). The STEP aims to support the development and manufacturing of critical technologies relevant to the EU green and digital transitions, as well as the EU's strategic sovereignty.

The European Commission has sent to Member States for consultation a draft proposal for a limited prolongation of the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (‘TCTF') in order to allow continued support for the primary agricultural sector in view of the persisting market disturbances.

The European Commission has today adopted a revised Market Definition Notice (“the Notice”). Market definition requires identifying the boundaries of competition between companies when assessing mergers and most antitrust cases. The revised Notice brings the Commission's guidance in line with new market realities, as well as with developments in the Commission's case practice and EU case law. It will enhance transparency and legal certainty for businesses, facilitate compliance and contribute to a more efficient competition enforcement.
See also Questions and answers on the revised Market Definition Notice; the COMP Flash by Inge Bernaerts, Director of Policy and Strategy at DG COMP, as well as the remarks by Executive Vice-President Vestager.

New Legislation
'What's new?'

New Legislation

The European Commission has today adopted two regulations amending the general rules for small amounts of aid (de minimis Regulation) and for small amounts of aid for Services of General Economic interest, such as public transport and healthcare (SGEI de minimis Regulation). The revised regulations, which exempt small aid amounts from EU State aid control since they are deemed to have no impact on competition and trade in the Single Market, will enter into force on 1 January 2024 and will apply until 31 December 2030.

The European Commission adopted today Guidelines on how to design sustainability agreements in the field of agriculture (‘Guidelines') using a novel exclusion from EU competition rules introduced by the recently reformed Common Agricultural Policy.

The European Commission has sent to Member States for consultation a draft proposal to partially adjust the phase-out schedule of the provisions of the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework aimed at providing a crisis response following Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the unprecedented increase in energy prices.

The European Commission has decided not to extend the EU legal framework which exempts liner shipping consortia from EU antitrust rules (Consortia Block Exemption Regulation or ‘CBER'). The Commission has concluded that the CBER no longer promotes competition in the shipping sector and therefore it will let it expire on 25 April 2024.
See also Q&A on the Consortia Block Exemption Regulation.

The European Commission has adopted today an amendment of the so-called 'de minimis' regulation for the fishery and aquaculture sector (‘Fishery de minimis Regulation'). The revised regulation, which exempts small aid amounts from State aid control since they are deemed to have no impact on competition and trade in the Single Market, will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal.

Today, September 1st, the package adopted on 20 April 2023 to further simplify procedures for reviewing concentrations under the EU Merger Regulation enters into force. The package includes: (i) a revised Implementing Regulation; (ii) a Notice on Simplified Procedure; and (iii) a Communication on the transmission of documents.
See also Competition Policy Brief on the Merger Simplification Package.

The European Commission has adopted today the rules for implementing the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (‘FSR'). The Implementing Regulation details procedural aspects of the implementation of the FSR. It also contains notification forms for concentrations involving foreign financial contributions and for foreign financial contributions in public procurement procedures.

The European Commission has today adopted revised Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations on Research and Development (‘R&D') and Specialisation agreements (‘HBERs'), accompanied by revised Horizontal Guidelines, following a thorough evaluation and review of the current rules. The revised HBERs and Guidelines provide businesses with clearer and up-to-date guidance to help them assess the compatibility of their horizontal cooperation agreements with EU competition rules. The new HBERs will enter into force on 1 July 2023, while the Guidelines will do so following their publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
See also FAQs on adoption of the new Horizontal Block Exemption Regulations and Horizontal Guidelines.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA)'s objective is to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector. And to reach this objective, the DMA defines:

• Gatekeepers as those large online platforms that provide an important gateway between business users and consumers;
• A series of specific obligations that gatekeepers will need to respect.

Listen to DG Competition Director for Mergers Guillaume Loriot tell you all about the new package to simplify merger control procedures.
[...] "The simplification package is a milestone moment in our effort to reduce red tape"
[...] Our objective? Cut reporting requirements by 25%.

The European Commission has today adopted a package to further simplify its procedures for reviewing concentrations under the EU Merger Regulation. The package includes: (i) a revised Merger Implementing Regulation (‘Implementing Regulation'), (ii) a Notice on Simplified Procedure (‘Notice'), and (iii) a Communication on the transmission of documents (‘Communication').

The European Commission has prolonged the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (‘MVBER') for five years, meaning that it will now be applicable until 31 May 2028. It has also updated the Supplementary Guidelines for the sector. The revised Guidelines will help companies in the automotive sector assess the compatibility of their vertical agreements with EU competition rules, while ensuring that aftermarket operators, including garages, continue to have access to vehicle-generated data necessary for repair and maintenance.

The European Commission has published today updated State aid guiding templates to assist Member States in designing measures, which will be included in their national Recovery and Resilience Plans (‘RRPs'), in line with EU State aid rules. In particular, the updated technical documents will help Member States design measures that further contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal, while helping to end the dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition as set out in the REPowerEU Plan.

The European Commission has launched a Call for Evidence seeking feedback on the adoption of Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance. In parallel, it has published a Communication (and Annex) amending its 2008 Guidance on enforcement priorities concerning exclusionary abuses.

The European Commission has endorsed a targeted amendment to the General Block Exemption Regulation ('GBER') to further facilitate, simplify and speed up support for the EU's green and digital transitions.