General principles and regulation

General principles

EU competition law and extraterritoriality

The European Commission jurisdiction to prosecute antitrust infringements committed outside of the European Economic Area (EEA) by non-EEA-based undertakings has been the subject of much debate.

Although EU Treaties do not provide specific guidance on the extraterritorial reach of EU competition rules, the Court of Justice has over time devised a number of tests to determine whether, in a given case, the Commission has appropriate jurisdiction. These tests are:

  1. the single economic entity doctrine that enables the Commission to assert jurisdiction over the parent company of a subsidiary located and engaged in illegal activity within the EEA

  2. the implementation doctrine that focuses on the extent to which the anti-competitive conduct has been implemented in the EEA, and

  3. the qualified effects doctrine, whereby the Commission needs to show that the conduct had substantial, immediate, and foreseeable effects in the EEA.

For more information, see Practice Note: Extraterritorial application of EU competition law.

Effect on trade

‘Effect on trade’ is a jurisdictional test which determines whether EU or national law is applicable to potentially anti-competitive

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MedTech Europe leads industry call for EU to provide medical device regulatory relief by early 2026

MedTech Europe, together with 35 national associations, has urged the European Commission to take swift action on regulatory challenges affecting the medical device and diagnostic sectors. While EU officials are already collecting evidence to support future reforms of the medical device and in vitro diagnostic regulations, which are meant to simplify and improve efficiency, the signatories of the open letter argue that immediate relief is also essential. They call for a combination of short-term measures alongside longer-term legislative reforms. In particular, the letter asks for an implementing act to standardize the work of notified bodies, pilot projects for regulatory pathways covering orphan, pediatric, and breakthrough devices, and a targeted delay of re-certification requirements for certain products. According to MedTech Europe, harmonizing rules for notified bodies would help reduce duplication, speed up assessments, and ease the overall regulatory burden. The proposed postponement of re-certification deadlines is seen as necessary to avoid bottlenecks that could disrupt the supply of devices ahead of 2028. Looking further ahead, the associations want amendments to both MDR and IVDR that reflect the specific needs of each sector, alongside the creation of a single governance structure to oversee notified bodies and the CE-marking system, which they consider vital to the future of European medical technology regulation.

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