On 30 April 2026, the Court of Justice of the EU (the “Court”) delivered its judgment in Case C‑133/24 CD Tondela and Others (“Tondela”). The case arose from a preliminary ruling request submitted by a Portuguese court concerning a no-poach agreement entered into by Portuguese professional football clubs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This…
On 30 April, the UAE adopted Cabinet Decision No. (59) of 2026 (“the 2026 Executive Regulations”), setting out the executive regulations for Federal Decree-Law No. (36) of 2023 on the Regulation of Competition. The 2026 Executive Regulations replace the previous implementing regulations adopted in 2014 under the former UAE competition law. They are expected to…
On 10 February 2026, the EU released the agreed compromise text of the new Regulation on the screening of foreign investments in the EU (the “New FIR Regulation”). The three EU institutions (Commission, Parliament and Council) reached the compromise on the text in December 2025 (see our blog) following several months of trilogues (see…
On 9 January 2026, the Commission adopted its Guidelines on the application of certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (the “FSR Guidelines”). The FSR Guidelines explain how the Commission assesses whether foreign subsidies distort the internal market, and,…
On 20 January, the UK Government announced a consultation on planned reforms to the UK’s merger and markets regime. Key proposed changes include narrowing certain jurisdictional thresholds, centralising Phase II decision-making within the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Board through removal of the Phase II independent panel (CMA Panel), and the introduction of a new…
On 11 December 2025, the Council and European Parliament reached political agreement to revamp the EU’s Foreign Investment Screening Regulation. The revamp aims at responding to perceived growing risks to national and economic security in the EU. It forms part of the EU’s recently unveiled Economic Security Doctrine. While the full text has not…
The figures are fresh off the press: the European Commission published its Fifth Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments (“FDI”) into the European Union (“EU”) just a few days ago.[1] Like the previous editions, the Fifth Annual Report offers a statistical overview of the EU FDI framework’s activities in the previous…
The war in Ukraine, and other recent geopolitical conflicts, has underscored the need for EU-based defence capabilities to scale up to face these challenges. Several EU initiatives which have sought to stimulate investment are starting to bear fruit, as the European Defence Agency recently reported record high defence spendings in the EU (€350bn for 2024, a…
On 4 September 2025, the Minister of Employment and Labour published the new Code of Good Practice: Dismissal under the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”). The Code is now in force and represents the most significant reform to South African dismissal laws in nearly three decades.
The Code consolidates and replaces both the Schedule 8:…
On June 25, 2025, the European Commission adopted the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) to promote the EU’s goals for decarbonization and competitiveness. CISAF makes permanent the relaxed State aid compatibility rules adopted under the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF). It will be in effect from June 25, 2025 until December 31,…
