Author: Subiotto Romano
Antitrust laws and proceedings in Europe, both at the Community and national levels, shape the European and international business landscape profoundly. It is essential therefore that business leaders and legal practitioners remain informed of the most important antitrust law developments and their effect on the business world. Antitrust Developments in Europe 2008 provides a comprehensive and practical commentary on the past year's major developments in EC and national antitrust law, and covers the entire range of issues. The insightful and concise analysis of major antitrust actions contained in this yearbook will be invaluable to legal practitioners, in-house counsel, business people, legal researchers, and many others with an interest in the field. With one of Europe's most sophisticated and highly-respected competition law practices, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has systematically and meticulously monitored antitrust developments in Europe since the early 1970s. This volume represents the combined efforts, expertise and insight of Cleary Gottlieb's practitioners in this rapidly-changing field.
March 3, 2009 FOREWORD (ANTITRUST DEVELOPMENTS) The 2008 edition of Antitrust Developments in Europe marks two new changes, the most notable of which is the welcome adoption of the book by LexisNexis. Less dramatically, Cleary Gottlieb has been added to the title. After seven years, it was felt that the firm had earned the right to attach itself by name to a publication that continues to amplify its practitioners' unparalleled experience, practicality and insight. The structure of the new publication will remain as in previous editions, however. Part I provides an overview of EC Competition Law developments while Part II summarizes key national Competition Law developments. Both sections are further subdivided by substantive topic area, and jurisdiction. Self-evidently, the collation, management and distillation of such a vast weight of information could not have been completed without the participation of Cleary Gottlieb's partners, associates and legal support team. The Editors would like to thank in particular Patrick Bock, the book's Sub-Editor. In addition, the following lawyers are thanked for reporting on the developments described in this book: Maria Ait, Antia Tresandi Blanco, Matthew Boyden, Fausto Caronna, Clémentine de Brosses, Frédéric de Bure, Fabio Cannizzaro, Stephen Coutts, Pierantonio D'Elia, Alexandra Deege, Maurits Dolmans, Karen Dyekjær, Georgina Eclair-Heath, Pascal Favre, Caroline Frydenberg, Beatrijs Gielen, Marcus Glader, Thomas Graf, Emma-Jean Hinchy, Hélène Kanellopoulos, Anna Kazantzidou, Rolf Larsson, Paul-John Loewenthal, Philip Lux, Peter Malone, Niklas Maydel, Michael Mayr, Juha-Pekka Mutanen, Thomas Nielsen, Kletia Noti, Kevin O'Connor, Michele Piergiovanni, Eeva Pohja, Ulrich Puerer, Itai Rabinovici, Neil Rigby, David Rosner, Francesco Salerno, Armin Steinbach, Beatriz Torets-Ruiz, Martim Valente, Saverio Valentino, Silvio Venturi, and Daniel Vowden. The Editors would like to pay tribute also to Cleary Gottlieb's production team: Quinlan Carthane, Paola Cedrangolo, Kevin Copeland, Sarah Hodges, Vanessa Kempeneers, Mark Mullin, Benjamin Solomon and Dagmar Tagger. Finally, the Editors extend their gratitude to everyone at LexisNexis, particularly Indira Nelson, David Colby, and George Nemire.
Editors' Note: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has a long-standing commitment to the practice of law in Europe. The firm's advisory work for the French government, and in particular Jean Monnet, on the implementation of the Marshall Plan led to the opening of the firm's first European office in Paris in 1949. In the following years, the firm was invited to assist in the drafting of certain provisions of the Treaties of the European Communities, including its antitrust rules, and to advise and represent the European Commission and the European Atomic Energy Agency. The opening of the Brussels office in 1960 was followed by the opening of offices in London in 1971, Frankfurt in 1991, Moscow in 1992, Rome and Milan in 1998, and Cologne in 2004. Cleary Gottlieb's antitrust practice is among the largest and longest-established in the world, consisting of 28 partners and about 130 counsel and associates based in Europe and the United States. The firm's European offices have developed a fully-integrated antitrust law practice with extensive and varied expertise in advising plaintiffs, complainants, and defendants on the application of EC and national and antitrust laws to domestic and cross-border mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and minority holdings; relations among competitors and among companies operating at different levels of trade; the behaviour of dominant companies; the application of state aid rules; proceedings before the European Commission and national antitrust authorities; arbitration; and litigation before the European Courts and national courts.
Romano Subiotto QC & Robbert Snelders Brussels, April 2009
