Experience

On behalf of the Associations of Albert Heijn Franchisees, Gall&Gall en Etos submitting observations to the European Commission regarding the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation. The observations and concerns were published recently. 

Assisting the municipality of Enschede in helping Dutch premier league football club FC Twente with its successful bid to survive a period of prolonged financial distress.

The Advising Dutch healthcare provider Oorwerk on the competition aspects of its acquisition. Our team provided guidance before and during the takeover by Sivantos. The transaction required the approval of the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa). Approval was granted on 17 May 2019. The decision and appendices are published on the website of the NZa. 

On behalf of the Vereniging Eurospecialité's, drew up a consultation document on the legislative proposal of the Dutch Government to change ERP - external price referencing (Belgium, France, Germany and the UK) by exchanging Germany for Norway in order to lower the prices of pharmaceuticals. Free movement of goods and the Transparency directive on pricing of medicinal products for human use (Directive 89/105/EEG) are at stake.

Acted as legal counsel, advising on (European) competition law in relation to the ambulance market in order to ensure a level playing field in which our clients operate.

Acted as legal counsel advising  project developers and municipalities on state aid risks in various complex spatial development projects.

Acted as legal counsel advising on undertakings in the pharmaceutical sector on the application of the ‘Falsified Medicine Directive’ and the ‘Delegated Regulation’ which  has applied since 9 February 2019. The goal of the new regulation is to prevent the entry of falsified medicinal products into the legal supply chain. One aspect is the application of the rules on the Unique Identifier (UDI) in relation to competition law and the need to maintain the level playing field in which our clients operate, on both European and national level.

Produced an information leaflet and organised in-house training on state aid for both  civil servants and the board of the mayor and aldermen of the municipality of Enschede.  Ensured improvement in knowledge as to state aid for the different policy areas of the municipality.

Represented Orifarm Denmark in the injunction procedure against Allergan Inc. (USA). This was held before the court of first instance in The Hague on the application of the so called Specific Mechanism (in the treaty on the accession of Poland and the other Eastern European Member States to the EU) on imports of Botox - marketed by Allergan in Poland - to The Netherlands. The case was the first in The Netherlands on this issue and raised a number of issues of EU law: more specifically, the scope of the Specific Mechanism and its interpretation in the broader context of the objectives of the internal market and the obligation of national courts in different Member States to prevent conflicting judgments (ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2017:10574).

Acted as a legal counsel advising various municipalities with a professional football club within their municipal territory on state aid aspects when the municipality is involved with buying, selling, restructuring and building a stadium. The area of state aid often goes with other practice areas, such as restructuring, insolvency and corporate law.

Acted as counsel in case C-174/15 before the European Court of Justice (judgment 10 November 2016): preliminary questions on the interpretation of the European copyright directive. The questions concerned the remuneration to which authors and publishers are entitled in case of 'e-lending' of eBooks by Dutch libraries.

ECJ 10 November 2016, case C-174/15, Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken/Pictoright Interpretation Directives 2006/115/EC and 2001/29/EC. E-lending and copyright.

ECJ 7 July 2016, case C-514/15 P, HIT Group / Commission, ECR (2016) p. I
 Competition law. Appeal against T-436/10, prestressed steel.

Successfully advised the municipality of Eindhoven on state aid procedure (article 108(2) TFEU) in respect of the sale-and-lease-back transaction between the municipality and the professional football club PSV. On 4 July 2016, the Commission decided that the measure of the municipality in favour of PSV did not constitute state aid in the meaning of 107(1) TFEU (PbEU 19.10.2016, L282/75).

Acted for the municipality of Enschede in the rescue of premier division  FC Twente and for the municipality of Venlo in the refinancing of second division football club VVV Venlo.

Acted as counsel before the European Court of Justice in case case C-379/14: preliminary question whether a trademark proprietor can oppose the import of its trademark products and the placing of these goods under a suspension regime on excise duties.
ECJ 16 July 2015, case C-379/14, Top Logistics/Bacardi, ECLI:EU:C:2015:497

Represented Nationale-Nederlanden before the European Court of Justice in case C-51/13) on the interpretation of EU directives on life insurance and pre-contractual information requirements. The EU Court ruled in favour of Nationale-Nederlanden on 29 April 2015.

ECJ 7 November 2013, case C-518/11, UPC / gemeente Hilversum, ECLI:EU:C:2013:709
 Telecom and competition law. 
Reference from the Amsterdam court of appeal; acting for city of Hilversum.

General Court 16 September 2013, T-373/10, Villeroy & Boch and Others / Commission
Competition law. Defence (acting for the European Commission) in the appeal against the Commission’s decision (Article 101TFEU) in the bathroom fittings-case.

CFI 1 July 2012, case T-206/10, Vesteda / Commission State aid. 
Legality of the Commission’s decision on the Dutch social housing system.