Study on the competition law assessment of agreements in Switzerland and the EU
Comparing Switzerland with the EU, which jurisdiction is more stringent in the competition law assessment of agreements? I was commissioned by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO to draft a study on this question. This was undertaken in light of the current partial review of the Swiss Cartel Act. The study assesses the […]
The “EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation” and Swiss-EU relations
The EU is in the process of setting additional limits to subsidy competition by non-EU states. With the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the EU is creating the conditions to take action against subsidies that are granted by non-EU countries to internationally active companies and that are likely to unfairly improve the competitive position of the […]
State supported bank rescue without state aid control – the UBS/Credit Suisse case
On Sunday, 19 March 2023, the Swiss government (the Federal Council) decided to support the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS. One can only wonder how things would have turned out if there had been a state aid regime in place in Switzerland. Switzerland has no binding, cross-sector state aid control system. A review of state […]
The EU adopts new rules against foreign subsidies – who should worry now?
As has been widely reported, the EU wants to expand its defence mechanism against undesirable subsidies and other state aid from non-EU countries. The European Parliament and the Council of the EU have agreed in principle on a Regulation to combat subsidies from third countries that distort the EU’s internal market. The text of the […]
Swiss Competition Commission reviews guidance on vertical restraints
The Swiss Competition Commission is consulting stakeholders on its revised Communication concerning the Competitive Assessment of Vertical Agreements (“the Swiss Vertical Communication”) and the accompanying Explanatory Note. The review of the Communication and the Explanatory Note was triggered by the European Commission’s review of the EU Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and the Vertical Guidelines. As […]
