Services

01

EU Litigation

Our core strength is EU Litigation. We are challenging on behalf of our clients acts of EU institutions before the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”).  Legal remedies may also include actions for inactivity of EU institutions or concerning their liability to pay compensation. We equally assist clients during national court proceedings in preparing requests for preliminary rulings to the CJEU.

---

02

EU State aid & Competition Law

We have outstanding expertise in the area of EU State aid law and have been involved in the most complex and challenging cases.  We offer the full spectrum of services, covering inter alia: (1) assisting throughout the notification process; (2) project specific advice to what extent State aid might be involved or declared compatible; (3) assisting competitors of aid recipients to lodge complaints with the EU Commission and/or initiating national court proceedings with the view to request the repayment of unlawfully obtained State aid; (4) strategic advice on changing State aid law and the consequences for companies and sectors; and (5) challenging EU Commission State aid decisions before the CJEU. We can provide quick input concerning the relevance of EU State aid law in M&A transactions or identify lawful State aid opportunities for investments in the European Union.

Concerning EU Competition Law, we represent the interests of our clients before EU Commission, national competition authorities and the CJEU. We advise on abuse of dominance cases and related procedures, both from the perspective of helping clients to challenge such abuses and from the perspective of defending clients against alleged abuse scenarios. We equally defend clients in cartel cases or file leniency applications.

---

03

International Trade & EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation

We advise clients on a wide range of EU trade law and market access related issues, including the classification and valuation of imported goods, country-of-origin marking and government procurement requirements. We assist in lodging complaints under the EU Trade Barriers Regulation and provide legal and strategic advice in relation to Free Trade Agreements. We equally advise and represent either complainants, exporters in third countries or EU importers and traders in trade protective procedures, such as anti-dumping, countervailing or safeguard investigations. We assist in relation to the EU’s Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI“) Regulation, which tries to ensure that the EU is better equipped to identify, assess and mitigate potential risks to security or public order. We help clients to be compliant with EU Sanctions or help them to challenge them in case they are unlawfully imposed. We have special expertise concerning the EFTA Convention and the Agreement on the European Economic Area (“EEA Agreement”).

The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”) targets subsidies granted by non-EU Member States to companies active in the EU. Under the FSR the EU has the power to investigate any merger or public procurement process initiated after 12 July 2023, which may involve foreign subsidies. The FSR imposes mandatory notification and approval requirements for M&A transactions with significant turnover in the EU and large public tenders in EU Member States. We help clients to ensure compliance with the FSR or represent competitors alleging violations of the FSR. 

---

04

Digital Markets

The Digital Markets Act (“DMA”) establishes a set of defined objective criteria to identify “gatekeepers”. Gatekeepers are large digital platforms providing core platform services, such as for example online search engines, app stores, messenger services. Gatekeepers will have to comply with the do’s (i.e. obligations) and don’ts (i.e. prohibitions) listed in the DMA.

The Digital Services Act (“DSA”) regulates online intermediaries and platforms such as marketplaces, social networks, content-sharing platforms, app stores, and online travel and accommodation platforms. Its main goal is to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation. It ensures user safety, protects fundamental rights, and creates a fair and open online platform environment.  We are helping clients to navigate through the DMA and DSA and ensure their compliance with the legal requirements.

The Artificial Intelligence Act (“AIA”) entered into force on 2 August 2024.  The AIA divides AI-systems into risk categories with correspondingly lower or higher legal requirements. In exceptional cases, law enforcement agencies may use facial recognition-AI. We help clients to ensure compliance with the AIA. 

---

05

Energy & Environment

We followed and practised EU Energy Law since the adoption of the first EU Directives liberalising the electricity and gas markets. Our experts followed closely the Florence and Madrid fora and are familiar with the industries in these sectors.  Our special focus rests on the application of EU Competition and State aid rules to the energy sector. We have unparalleled expertise with regard to the subsidisation of new power projects. Complementary to our energy practice are environmental issues, such as climate change and emission trading. Our team aims at helping clients to anticipate and deal with regulatory changes and the impact of digitalisation on the energy sector. With the growing importance of Hydrogen, we help clients in this new regulatory environment and advise them on the subsidisation of these projects. 

---

06

Compliance

We help clients to be compliant with EU Competition Law, EU State aid Law, the FSR, EU Sanctions, the DMA, the DSA and the AIA.  We take a holistic approach on compliance issues, as they require to a large extent similar procedures, structures, responsibilities and corporate cultures.  Our services range from internal audits, the design and implementation of compliance structures, drafting compliance programs and process manuals, as well as providing training.

---