Germany: Trade Regulation & Practices

In response to the Russian Federation's activities targeting Ukraine and the recognition of Luhansk/Donetsk as independent regions, EU foreign ministers have authorized three packages of sanctions.

New law regulates commercial dealings between suppliers and comparatively larger buyers of food and agricultural products.

In October 2018, the German Federal Cartel Office ("FCO") published its fourth paper in the series "Competition and Consumer Protection in the Digital Economy".

With our Client Update dated 7 July 2016 we informed on the ministerial draft for a proposed Ninth Amendment of the German Act against Restraints of Competition...

The German business magazine Handelsblatt Rechtsboard recently published Frankfurt-based Antitrust associate Dr. Jens Steger's article on proposed updates to Germany's competition laws.

In our last Legal Update in a series of commentary pieces by Mayer Brown about the directive on private antitrust damages actions, we focused on the impact of the Directive in England.

As of 15 September 2010, four of the 12 divisions of the German Federal Cartel Office (BKartA) are under new directorship.

The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (OLG Düsseldorf) has resolved a case resulting from a conditional clearance decision of the German Federal Cartel Office ("BKartA"), in relation to the merger between Globus Fachmärkte GmbH & Co. KG ("Globus", a German DIY store chain) and Hela Profizentren ("Hela", a DIY store chain owned by the Distributa-Group).

The Court of Justice of the EU (the "Court of Justice") has delivered a judgment in a series of joint cases that questioned the legitimacy of the organisation of betting and lotteries in Germany, stating that the current state monopoly on gambling is "unjustifiable" and against EU laws.