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Articles by Benjamin Geisel
The Belgian Competition Authority's 2026 Priorities: What In-House Counsel Need To Know
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
European Commission Publishes Guidelines On Foreign Subsidies Regulation: What Businesses Need To Know
Karel Bourgeois’s articles from Crowell & Moring LLP are most popular: in European Union Crowell & Moring LLP are most popular: within Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Law Department Performance topic(s) Key takeaway #1 The Foreign Subsidies Regulation enables the European Commission to take action in relation to foreign subsidies that may distort competition within the European Union.
How Illumina/Grail Is Affecting EU Merger Control 1 Year On
By Benjamin Geisel and Karel Bourgeois ( October 29, 2025, 2:30 PM GMT) -- On Sept. 3, 2024, the European Court of Justice ruled in its landmark Illumina/Grail judgment that the European Commission could not accept merger referrals from national competition authorities under Article 22 of the European Union Merger Regulation, or EUMR, unless those authorities had jurisdiction to review the transaction themselves.[1]... Law360 is on it, so you are, too.
One Year After Illumina/Grail - How Are EU Competition Authorities Now Dealing With Below-Threshold Mergers
Key takeaway #1 In principle, the CJEU's ruling in the Illumina/Grail case severely limited the Commission's ability to review below-threshold transactions. However, Member States are still referring cases under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, as demonstrated by the Nvidia/Run:ai and Brasserie Nationale/Boissons Heintz cases. Key takeaway #2 Several Member States have adopted "call-in" powers to investigate and refer below-threshold mergers at their discretion.
The Belgian Competition Authority Steps Up Its Merger Control And Cartel Enforcement Activities
Key takeaway #1 The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) is now actively reviewing transactions that fall below Belgian merger notification thresholds where it suspects that the transaction may cause significant competitive harm. This approach increases legal uncertainty, and companies should carefully assess the competitive impact of all their transactions, even those that are not notifiable.
The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation One Year On: An Effective Tool Or Just More Red Tape?
Key takeaway #1 In the first year of application of the FSR, the European Commission received more notifications than expected and has already opened two own-initiative investigations. However, it carried out few in-depth (Phase II) investigations and adopted only one decision (a conditional clearance). Key takeaway #2 The FSR's reporting rules cast a wide net, catching many large, but otherwise innocuous M&A transactions and public bids.
The EU Court Of Justice's Judgment In Illumina/Grail - Has The Killer Of "Killer Acquisitions" Been Disarmed?
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
The European Commission's Draft Guidelines On Exclusionary Abuses: Towards Stricter Enforcement?
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
Green Claims: German 'Climate-Neutral' Product Case
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
Complying With EU Commission's Joint Purchasing Rules
By Thomas De Meese, Benjamin Geisel and Julie van Hevele (July 16, 2024, 3:07 PM BST) -- To mark the one-year anniversary of the European Commission's revised guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements,[1] this article provides practical guidance on how to make antitrust-related assessments of joint purchasing arrangements between competitors.... Law360 is on it, so you are, too.
Getting Ready For A Group Discount - The European Commission's Updated Guidance On Joint Purchasing Arrangements
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
The European Commission's Revised Market Definition Notice
CM Crowell & Moring LLP More Our founders aspired to create a different kind of law firm when they launched Crowell & Moring in 1979. From those bold beginnings, our mission has been to provide our clients with the best services of any law firm in the world through a spirit of trust, respect, cooperation, collaboration, and a commitment to giving back to the communities around us.
When Talking Things Through Is The Problem, Not The Solution: The European Commission's Updated Guidance On Information Exchange - Antitrust, EU Competition - European Union
Key takeaway #1 The exchange of information between competitors can raise antitrust concerns. For such exchanges to be legitimate, they must pursue an objective that has positive or neutral effects on competition and be limited to what is strictly necessary and proportionate in order to achieve that objective. Key takeaway #2 In addition to bilateral or multilateral exchanges, the unilateral disclosure of information can be problematic, also for the receiving company.
Surely The Kids Are Safe? – What The European Commission's Updated Guidance Says About Joint Venture Agreements - Cartels, Monopolies - United States
Key takeaway #1 The new Horizontal Guidelines confirm that, as a general rule, competition law does not apply to the relationship between a joint venture (JV) and its parent companies, because the JV and its parent companies are considered to form a single economic unit and are therefore treated as a single undertaking.
Surely the Kids are Safe? - What the European Commission’s Updated Guidance Says About Joint Venture Agreements
What You Need to Know Key takeaway #1 The new Horizontal Guidelines confirm that, as a general rule, competition law does not apply to the relationship between a joint venture (JV) and its parent companies, because the JV and its parent companies are considered to form a single economic unit and are therefore treated as a single undertaking.
How to Meet the New Notification Obligations Under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation
What You Need to Know Key takeaway #1 As of October 12, 2023, companies active in the EU have to notify foreign financial contributions (FFCs) received from third countries to the Commission, when they engage in large M&A transactions or participate in high-value public procurements. Pending the Commission’s review of such notifications, a standstill obligation applies.
European Commission Simplifies Merger Control Procedure
What You Need to Know Key takeaway #1 A wider scope of transactions will be eligible for a simplified merger control procedure in the EU, expediting the review by the Commission. Key takeaway #2 A “tick the box” notification form should reduce the time to prepare notifications in simplified procedures, and a “super-simplified” procedure without pre-notification should speed up the review of the most unproblematic transactions.
The impact of the Green Deal on EU Competition law: How Sustainability Aspects are shaping the Rules and what it means for Businesses. | JD Supra
In December 2019, the European Commission (the Commission) presented its European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives aimed at making Europe climate-neutral by 2050. Margrethe Vestager (the Commissioner), has clarified that this central Commission initiative will also impact the Directorate General for Competition and the way in which competition rules will be enforced in the future. Please see full Publication below for more information.
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