Insights | May 20, 2022

EU brings regime for vertical agreements into the digital age

The review of the regulatory regime for vertical agreements in the EU has finally come to an end. On 10 May 2022, the European Commission published the revised Vertical Block Exemption Regulation and the accompanying Vertical Guidelines. In this article, we summarize the key changes.

New challenges for distribution systems in a new market reality

Having a grip on the competition rules applying to vertical relationships – that is, restrictions on what companies can agree with their suppliers and customers – is essential for almost all businesses. And it is not getting any easier. Over the past decade, the market has evolved in particular through the growth of e-commerce, expanding the routes to market and causing suppliers to increasingly adopt mixed or “dual” distribution systems, i.e. selling in parallel directly to consumers and via distributors. This development has brought challenges that the previous EU vertical regime was unable to tackle efficiently…