Butterworths Competition and Foreign Investment Law Handbook 30th Edition

This is the latest edition of arguably the most comprehensive single collection of UK and EU statutory source material and official guidance on competition law. Legislation is printed as currently practiced and the simple layout directs you to the information you need quickly and easily. In addition to all amendments, repeals and revocations, it features expert annotations regarding commencement and cross-references to other legislation.

In relation to the UK:

• The UK Parliament has passed the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, a new key piece of legislation expected to come into force in Autumn 2024, bringing with it significant changes to merger control and antitrust laws including (among others): (a) a new Strategic Market Status regime; (b) an additional jurisdictional limb designed to enable the CMA to review so-called “killer acquisitions”; and (c) a “safe harbour” to exclude mergers from review where each party generates limited turnover in the UK.
• In addition, the UK Parliament has also enacted the Procurement Regulations 2024, which are designed to sit alongside the Procurement Act 2023 to simplify the UK’s public procurement regime and open up procurement to new entrants such as small businesses.
• The CMA has published an updated version of its CMA2 mergers guidance, concerning the CMA’s jurisdiction and procedure, including the CMA’s new Phase 2 procedural guidance as well as other updates such as changes to the CMA’s template merger notice forms and waiver.
• Furthermore, the CMA has published CMA 190, new guidance in relation to energy network mergers and, more specifically, the CMA’s related procedure and assessment.
• In relation to FDI, earlier this year the Cabinet Office published the outcomes of its consultation concerning the operation of the National Security and Investment Act 2021, and indicated that related guidance may be subject to significant overhaul later this year.

In relation to the European Union:

• A revised Market Definition Notice has been published by the European Commission (the “Commission”), which takes into account significant developments since the publication of its predecessor (in 1997), and introduces new focus on digitalization as well as the increasingly interconnected and globalized nature of commercial exchanges.
• In relation to foreign subsidies, the Commission has published a policy brief, which provides statistics and trends over the first 100 days of the operation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation.
• With regard to foreign direct investment, the Commission has published a draft proposal for a new regulation to repeal and replace the existing EU FDI Screening Regulation, and is further considering the prospect of regulating outbound investment.
• The Council of the European Union (the “Council”) approved the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, marking the first comprehensive regulation of AI by a major global regulator, which takes a risk-based approach to AI regulation by separating AI into multiple risk categories each of which require a unique level of legal intervention.
• In addition, the Council has enacted the Data Act, introducing harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data