Europe: Antitrust/Competition Law

The Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Türkiye, ratified in July 2026, establishes a comprehensive framework extending far beyond simple tariff reductions. While the agreement introduces product-specific customs duty eliminations and phased reductions, it also creates binding rules for services trade, commercial establishment, electronic commerce, and state-to-state dispute resolution.

The Competition and Markets Authority has dramatically increased its enforcement activity, imposing over £5.7M in fines in early 2026 and accelerating investigation timelines under new statutory duties. Businesses face heightened scrutiny across consumer protection practices, from advertising to commercial operations, requiring immediate attention to compliance frameworks and rapid-response capabilities.

The European Commission has delivered its first three-year review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, declaring the enforcement framework "fit for purpose" while acknowledging significant administrative burden on market participants. Though the regime has processed thousands of notifications since 2023, resulting in only a handful of in-depth investigations, the Commission has committed to targeted procedural simplifications expected in 2027, even as it doubles down on scrutinizing state-backed acquirers a

On December 25, 2025, the Turkish Competition Board (“Board”) accepted the revised commitments submitted by Sahibinden Bilgi Teknolojileri Pazarlama ve Ticaret A.Ş. (“Sahibinden”) and terminated the investigation launched against Sahibinden under Article 6 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Law No. 4054”) concerning alleged leveraging practices associated with Sahibinden's Otobid service.

The UK government is consulting on a package of reforms to make the opt-out collective proceedings (CPO) regime, regulatory appeals and competition enforcement swifter and simpler. This follows a call for evidence last year on the CPO regime. The key proposals include:

The European Commission has imposed a historic €550 million fine on AliExpress for violations of the Digital Services Act, marking a significant enforcement action in the regulation of digital platforms. This unprecedented penalty raises critical questions about compliance obligations for major e-commerce platforms operating in the European Union and the Commission's approach to enforcing digital marketplace standards.

A decision by the Turkish Competition Board ("Board") to revoke the full immunity previously granted to a leniency applicant would bring to the surface a structural tension that lies at the very heart of any leniency programme: The obligation to cease participating in the infringement on the one hand, and the obligation to maintain strict confidentiality of the application on the other. Such a development would raise a fundamental question that Turkish competition law has not yet squarely addressed and one that has major implications for the future of active cooperation in Turkey.

The German competition authority has levied significant fines against three companies for coordinating prices in the test and measurement equipment market. What led to the discovery of this anti-competitive behavior, and how did the companies' cooperation during the investigation influence the final penalties?

Rekabet Kurulu'nun 5-23 Haziran 2026 tarihleri arasında verdiği yedi önemli karar, otomotiv lastiklerinden dijital yayın platformlarına, kast ajanslarından yapay zekâya kadar...