The much-anticipated Procurement Bill was laid before the UK Parliament on 11 May and has already received its first reading in the House of Lords. Once enacted, the Bill will overhaul the existing regulations governing the award of public and utility contracts in the UK (other than Scotland). These outgoing regulations are based closely on … Read more

Following a comprehensive review and consultation process, the new revised EU vertical agreements block exemption Regulation (VBER) and Guidelines have now been published and will come into force on 1 June 2022.  The Commission’s stated objectives of the review process were to adjust the safe harbour under the VBER to eliminate false positives (where the … Read more

On 28 April 2022, the UK’s Subsidy Control Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (the “Act”). Although the UK’s domestic subsidy control regime now has a statutory footing, most of the Act has not yet entered into force, meaning that the interim regime based on the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement … Read more

On 6 May 2022 the UK government published its response to the July 2021 consultation on a new pro-competition regime for digital markets (see our blog post here), setting out its proposals for the design of a new regime to proactively shape the behaviour of the most powerful technology firms with strategic market status. The … Read more

HSF AFRICA MERGER TOOL LAUNCHING SOON We will soon be launching an informative guide on the current state of merger control competition regulation across Africa. The effective regulation of competition continues to be a key development focus in Africa, especially as Africa remains a growing foreign investment destination. Merger regulation regimes have been implemented in various countries … Read more

In 2021, the European Commission issued a proposal for a far-reaching new Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the EU market (the “proposed Regulation“). The proposed Regulation has now passed a key procedural milestone on the path to adoption. On 25 April 2022, the EU Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (“INTA Committee”) unanimously voted in favour … Read more

On 20 April 2022 the UK government published its response to the consultation launched in July 2021, proposing a wide range of far-reaching changes to the UK competition and consumer protection regimes (see our blog post on the consultation here). Taking into account the feedback received from stakeholders on the various proposals, the government has … Read more

We are delighted that our overview of recent activity, reforms and trends in relation to antitrust enforcement in the Asia-Pacific region has been published as part of the Global Competition Review Asia-Pacific Antitrust Review 2022. Our chapter summarises notable regulatory reforms and enforcement activity across jurisdictions in the Asia-Pacific region. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, the … Read more