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Antitrust and Competition

Overview

Staying ahead of the game

The EU has placed a high priority on protecting free competition within the Union, and the European Commission rigorously monitors and investigates anti-competition practices, mergers, and state aid.

Businesses operating in the EU rely on Crowell’s experienced Antitrust and Competition team to help them with the full complement of European competition law matters, including mergers, damages litigation, IP/antitrust, cartel investigations, counseling, and compliance. Our Brussels lawyers also work with our international recovery team to identify and successfully pursue opportunities for our corporate clients to recover damages owed to them as result of cartel activity.

For more information about our services, click on the links below:

Comprehensive EU and National Services

In addition to our EU-level capabilities, we have in-house experience in Belgian and U.K. competition law, and we can rely on a global network of lawyers across Europe when matters pertaining to other national jurisdictions arise. We have significant experience serving leading corporations as advisors and regulatory counselors, and our litigation skills make us opponents to contend with on both a national (e.g., before the specialized Competition Chamber of the Brussels Court of Appeal and before civil courts throughout Belgium), and an EU level (before the European Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union).

Global reach

Our clients’ cross-border business interests frequently demand multi-jurisdictional antitrust and competition strategies, and our global antitrust practice has the skill and scale to handle matters of any size, anywhere. Crowell’s team of more than 80 dedicated antitrust practitioners regularly assists clients across six continents. And by maintaining close relationships with the top antitrust firms and practitioners around the world, we can select and coordinate the best possible counsel to help solve clients’ unique cross-jurisdictional problems as they arise. In recent years, we’ve assisted clients in mergers, acquisitions, investigations, litigation, and arbitrations in over 80 jurisdictions.

Government insight

Our excellent working relations with the European Commission and with national competition authorities (in particular in Belgium and the U.K.) allow us to provide you with up-to-the minute information on regulatory approaches and priorities so that you can stay ahead of the game.

Practice depth

Our competition lawyers are leaders in their field. We monitor and report on all the latest competition law developments that affect our clients. We are regular contributors to handbooks, legal journals, and blogs and are frequently asked to speak at conferences and seminars throughout Europe.

Collaborative across the board

Our team is well known for working is close partnership with clients, with colleagues across the firm’s practice areas, and with co-counsel on deals and disputes. Our collaborative approach ensures that all parties perform efficiently, smoothly, and in the client’s best interest.

Clients appreciate that the team's first impulse is not to tell you what you cannot do, but to try to find a legal way of doing what you want to do,’ and ‘they have deep background and experience and are extremely practical.

Chambers

Insights

Client Alert | 9 min read | 03.18.26

The Belgian Competition Authority's 2026 Priorities: What In-House Counsel Need to Know

The BCA 2026 Priorities Paper sets out the sectors in which the authority will exercise particular vigilance, and outlines its strategic policy priorities for the year, including the development and deployment of its enforcement instruments. For in-house counsel, the document is an important roadmap: it signals where investigations are most likely to originate, what new tools the BCA is acquiring, and which compliance initiatives deserve immediate attention. The most prominent change in the 2026 paper is the replacement of the construction sector, considered a priority sector in 2025, with sport, media and entertainment....

Professionals

Insights

Client Alert | 9 min read | 03.18.26

The Belgian Competition Authority's 2026 Priorities: What In-House Counsel Need to Know

The BCA 2026 Priorities Paper sets out the sectors in which the authority will exercise particular vigilance, and outlines its strategic policy priorities for the year, including the development and deployment of its enforcement instruments. For in-house counsel, the document is an important roadmap: it signals where investigations are most likely to originate, what new tools the BCA is acquiring, and which compliance initiatives deserve immediate attention. The most prominent change in the 2026 paper is the replacement of the construction sector, considered a priority sector in 2025, with sport, media and entertainment....

Insights

Client Alert | 9 min read | 03.18.26

The Belgian Competition Authority's 2026 Priorities: What In-House Counsel Need to Know

The BCA 2026 Priorities Paper sets out the sectors in which the authority will exercise particular vigilance, and outlines its strategic policy priorities for the year, including the development and deployment of its enforcement instruments. For in-house counsel, the document is an important roadmap: it signals where investigations are most likely to originate, what new tools the BCA is acquiring, and which compliance initiatives deserve immediate attention. The most prominent change in the 2026 paper is the replacement of the construction sector, considered a priority sector in 2025, with sport, media and entertainment....