Antitrust & Public Procurement
European law affects all sectors of the Dutch economy. Competition and antitrust rules play a particularly important role such as the ban on restrictive business practices, the prohibition against abuse of a dominant position and mandatory merger control. Besides these European laws, the Netherlands introduced its own Competition Act in 1998. The attorneys in our Antitrust and Public Procurement Practice Group are well-versed in the specifics of European and Dutch competition law and have extensive experience of litigation in this field. In addition, public procurement law forms an important part of European law, and our lawyers are also experts in this field. With other area’s of European and regulatory law our attorneys are equally conversant. Concerning either complex projects where possibly state aid may be granted or restrictions of the free movement of goods, services, labour or capital or transportation or health care.
Antitrust
If you are planning to enter into a cooperation or joint venture with another company, we can help you design this venture or review it for compliance with antitrust rules. We maintain regular contact with the NMa (the Netherlands Competition Authority) and the European Commission in our work. We can notify mergers and acquisitions with these agencies, or file complaints for infringements of competition law. In the event that the NMa or the European Commission brings a case against your company, we will assist you during the investigation and, if necessary, appeal any sanctions. Our attorneys also litigate class actions for cartel damages.
Public procurement law
We can also advise you on whether it is necessary to pursue a European tender before concluding a contract and advise you on the best way to organize a tender. We also litigate on behalf of both contracting parties and tenderers in post-tender disputes, when a tenderer challenges the fact that it was not granted the order. Our experience in this field means we are familiar with the interests and arguments on both sides and can deploy this insight in all stages of the tender process.