Competition co-head Andrzej Kmiecik, senior counsel Richard Burton and counsel Catherine Gordley have authored the EU chapters of the Chambers Global Practice Guide: Cartels 2025.

The guide offers an overview of the legal and procedural cartel enforcement landscape in jurisdictions across three continents. Dawn raids, immunity/leniency, fines and private damages actions are among the issues covered. Key trends and developments are highlighted in a dedicated chapter.

As signalled in the VBB team’s chapters, the European Commission has made clear that no economic sector is immune from scrutiny and that it will make vigorous use of its enforcement powers to ensure the deterrent effect of its increasingly expansionist definition of the cartel prohibition. In this climate, understanding the rules and developing effective strategies to address and manage cartel risks is more important than ever.

The VBB competition team has longstanding experience of advising global clients on assessing and managing cartel risk and has acted on many of the most significant European Commission investigations, including end-of-life vehicles, airfreight, occupant safety systems, power cables, bioethanol, car battery recycling, automotive bearings, bananas, DRAM, LCD, polyurethane foam, wood pulp (I & II) and smart card chips, as well acting as lead counsel on multiple appeals to the EU Courts. Our expert team regularly coordinates with leading counsel in other major jurisdictions on global investigations.

Read the VBB Law and Practice and Trends and Development chapters here: Chambers Cartels 2025 – EU Chapters