European Competition Law

Over the years, the influence of European law on our national legislation has gradually increased. Areas such as agriculture, trade and transport were already affected heavily, but legislation now also has a direct impact on the lives of civilians as it touches legal areas such as migration, criminal law and family law. European Law (or Union Law) is now found in legal fields and sectors hitherto unaffected.

Pels Rijcken employs attorneys who have closely follow and stay on top of these developments and they know Brussels' procedures and how to play by the EU's institutional rules. They carefully examine the meaning of the Union's legislation and are quick to see where there is room at the national level for additional or deviant measures.

In our advisory practice, state aid is one of the focal points. Where a proposed measure involves government guarantees for housing corporations, saving banks or drafting a partnership agreement for an area development project, the question of whether this measure is "state aid-proof" always arises. We have public sector clients and increasingly act on behalf of provincial authorities and large municipalities. A recurrent question that arises in our advice practice is how to safeguard certain public interests when acting within the  state aid framework. There,Pels Rijcken's attorneys always manage to provide their clients with concrete solutions.

Pels Rijcken EU law specialists spend most of their time litigating before both administrative courts as well as the civil courts, handling cases that range from transport concessions to food safety. The most fundamental cases the team handles are those in which the court is requested to test national legislation against European Treaty provisions such as free movement of capital. Dealing with this wide variety of lawsuits has also reinforced the broad focus of the team's advisory practice.

Recommendations

• “The work of Pels Rijcken is very good.” - Chambers Europe, 2024
• “The team is extremely responsive.” - Chambers Europe, 2024
• "The firm has extensive knowledge in competition matters but also in government policy." - Chambers Europe, 2023
• "The lawyers of Pels Rijcken are very competent in providing balanced legal advice but also show a good knowledge and awareness of the relevant non-legal context of the matter at hand." - Chambers Europe, 2023
• "The team understands quickly what the scope of the request is and is responsive to deadlines." - Chambers Europe, 2023
• "I was pleasantly surprised by the quick understanding of our problems." - Chambers Europe, 2023
• "What makes the Pels Rijcken practice unique is that their expertise extends to all areas that are important for the high legal risk political fields in which their advice is needed. The team is always ready to go, friendly and to the point, even in situations where that is almost impossible. A unique character is that they approach issues from different angles, sketching scenarios with different risk factors, always keeping the client in full focus." - The Legal 500, 2023
• "What makes the lawyers of Pels stand out is that they understand the playing field beyond the legal parameters that define it legally. The lawyers are capable to internalise the day to day issues that we have to deal with making their advice applicable." - The Legal 500, 2023
• "The individual lawyers all have superior knowledge in their respective areas of expertise." - The Legal 500, 2023
• "Pels Rijcken is widely-recognised for its strength in court litigation involving a wide range of EU and competition issues." - The Legal 500, 2022
• "Dedicated and well-informed team. Willingness to think a long while case develops." - The Legal 500, 2022
• "The practice is unique because it has all the in-house expertise needed for providing full-service legal advice to the public sector. If necessary, a team of lawyers will be put together. The Pels Rijcken lawyers are also renowned for their expertise and have an excellent reputation in the academic field." - The Legal 500, 2022
• "The team displays a hands-on mentality when it comes to advising the client. It doesn’t matter whether the case is complex or not. Every case gets the attention it needs. They carefully dissect the issues at hand and provide practical solutions." - The Legal 500, 2022