Van Bael & Bellis (VBB) is pleased to announce that it has appointed competition partner Andreas Reindl as its new managing partner, with effect from 1 February 2024. Andreas succeeds Philippe De Baere who has led the firm since 2016 and will continue to practise as a member of VBB’s EU and international trade law group
On 6 December 2024, the long-awaited Law of 18 May 2024 governing private investigations (Wet van 18 mei 2024 tot regeling van de private opsporing / Loi du 18 mai 2024 réglementant la recherche privée - the Law) was published in the Belgian Official Journal. The Law establishes a comprehensive framework for organisations conducting internal investigations (e.g. in relation to suspected fraudulent or wrongful acts committed by their employees).
On 18 December 2024, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) published what it calls a “short guide for tech challengers” (the Guide) which discusses the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the benefits which the DMA is intended to bring to the digital sector in terms of innovation and competition by reducing entry and expansion barriers and improving fairness in the dealings of third parties with specific gatekeepers, the largest digital platforms in Europe
Our EU and Belgian competition law expertise has been recognised in Global Competition Review (GCR)’s 2025 guide to the world’s best competition practices. The guide aims to provide a research-based quantitative and qualitative analysis of the law firms doing the most important antitrust work globally.
The EU Forced Labour Products Ban, which prohibits economic operators from placing on, making available in or exporting from the EU market products made with forced labour, was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 12 December 2024 and it entered into force the following day. This client alert sets out answers to questions commonly asked by companies preparing for compliance.
The European Commission publishes today the fourth of six Regulations implementing the Regulation on Health Technology Assessment (HTA) (Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 of 15 December 2021 on health technology assessment and amending Directive 2011/24/EU) (see, Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News & Insights of 15 December 2021 and Van Bael & Bellis Life Sciences News & Insights of 22 December 2021) (the HTA Regulation).
VBB acted for The Rent Company B.V. on the acquisition of Edu-Tech, one of the main Belgian players in educational technologies and educational software licensing services.
The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) recently delivered the latest instalment in the Pfizer/Flynn saga by annulling the decision re-imposed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CAT instead conducted its own assessment of the conduct and ultimately imposed a fine similar to that imposed by the CMA.
The November 2024 issue of our Belgian Business Law newsletter reporting on the latest developments in a range of areas, including competition law, consumer law, intellectual property and labour law.
The committee for Economic Affairs, Consumer Protection, and Digitalisation of the federal Chamber of Representatives requested the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) to give an advice on bill 56K0234 which seeks to prohibit dynamic pricing for the sale of entrance tickets to events, including sporting and cultural happenings.
