Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter, which explores recent competition law developments across the UK and EU.
As 2025 draws to a close, we have continued to see significant developments across a range of areas of EU and UK competition law.
From an EU perspective, we reflect on the European Commission's renewed focus on vertical restraints over the last 18 months, discuss the Court of Justice's latest "pay for delay" ruling in Modafinil, and examine the Commission's evolving decisional practice under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), in view of its recent conditional clearance in ADNOC/Covestro.
In the UK, a key milestone has been reached in the new digital markets regime with the CMA's first three "strategic market status" (SMS) designations – of Google's general search business, and Apple and Google's mobile platforms. We look at the key takeaways from the three SMS decisions. We also consider the CMA's revised guidance on merger remedies, and explore the implications of the Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent damages decision in the Boundary Fares case, which had some interesting things to say about the scope of abuse of dominance under UK competition law.
Protecting the single market: vertical restraints back in focus
Over the past 18 months, the European Commission has
re-intensified its scrutiny of resale price maintenance, online
sales restrictions, and practices restricting parallel trade, with
recent fines on three major fashion houses confirming that vertical
restraints are once again a central enforcement priority for the
Commission.
Read the article
Wake-up call: CJEU's modafinil judgment highlights risks in patent settlement side deals
On 23 October 2025 the Court of Justice of the European Union
upheld the Commission's antitrust fines against Teva and
Cephalon. The judgment cements the EU Courts' approach to
so-called "pay-for-delay" agreements and highlights the
risks that can arise where parties conclude commercial
side-agreements as part of a patent settlement.
Read the article
CMA confirms evolution in its approach to merger remedies with new draft guidance
Following a high-profile review, the CMA has published revised
draft guidance on merger remedies. The new guidance reflects a more
open-minded approach to complex and/or behavioural remedies, but
the changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Read the article
European Commission conditionally approves ADNOC–Covestro deal, following second in-depth FSR merger investigation
The European Commission recently conditionally approved Abu
Dhabi National Oil Company's acquisition of Covestro. We
examine the essential details of the clearance, and consider how it
builds upon the Commission's previous FSR clearance decision in
e&/PPF.
Read the article
Key takeaways from the CMA's first round of SMS designations
The CMA's designation of Google and Apple as the first firms
with strategic market status is a watershed moment for the UK's
new digital markets regime. We examine key points from the
designation decisions, ahead of the CMA's forthcoming proposals
on conduct requirements.
Read the article
Clarifying the boundaries of abuse of dominance: Competition Appeal Tribunal dismisses Boundary Fares collective proceedings
The Competition Appeal Tribunal recently dismissed three
parallel opt-out collective proceedings concerning rail Boundary
Fares. We explore the judgment's clarifications on the scope of
abuse of dominance, and its broader implications for the UK's
collective proceedings regime.
Read the article
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
