1. What is the applicable legislation? At national level On 1 July 2023, the screening mechanism for foreign direct investments (FDI), provided for by the cooperation agreement between the Federal State and the various Belgian Regions and Communities came into force (Cooperation Agreement 2022). Non-European investors have to notify an inter-federal screening committee of their investment projects in a Belgian company active in a highly sensitive sector or one likely to affect national security, public order or the strategic interests of the Federal State, Regions and Communities. At regional level The Flemish Parliament adopted on 7 December 2018 the Administrative Decree (Bestuursdecreet) (Decree 2018) which regulates the screening of foreign investment in Flanders’ strategic (semi-) public assets. The Decree 2018 entered into force on 1 January 2019 but has not yet been applied. Articles III.59 and III.60 of the Decree 2018 introduce an emergency brake mechanism to ‘safeguard the strategic interests of the Flemish Region’. However, this is an individual ex post mechanism and not an ex ante screening of anticipated legal

This table summarises all completed investigations by Belgium’s competition authority (the Belgian Competition Authority—BCA) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions (Articles 101/102 TFEU and national equivalents) since 2018. Note—only decisions that have been made public are included in this table. 2026 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article IV.1 of the Code of Economic Law Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Newspaper distribution•bpost•DPG media•Mediahuis•PPP Restrictive agreements—bid rigging • Infringement decision announced—13/02/20256; fines totalling €11,898,483 imposed Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Article IV.2 of the Code of Economic Law The BCA has not yet issued any decisions under Article 102/Article IV.2 in 2026. 2025 Investigations under Article 101 TFEU/Article IV.1 of the Code of Economic Law Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Electricity trading• Nord Pool AS• EPEX SPOT SE Restrictive agreements—allocating markets • Infringement decision announced—26/06/2025; fines totalling €79,810 imposed Pharmaceuticals• Johnson & Johnson Consumer• Boehringer Ingelheim• Haleon Belgium Restrictive agreements • Infringement decision announced—24/04/2025; fines totalling €11.2m imposed Investigations under Article 102 TFEU/Article IV.2 of the

NOTE—to see whether notification thresholds in Belgium and throughout the world are met, see further: Where to Notify. 1. Have there been recent developments regarding the Belgian merger control regime? What are the main points of interest and are any further updates/developments expected? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in Belgium? In Belgium, merger control rules were first introduced by the Act on the Protection of Economic Competition on 5 August 1991 (the 1991 Act). At that time, the Belgian thresholds included both a turnover and a market share threshold. The 1991 Act was subsequently replaced by further legislation in 1999, which was in turn replaced by the 2006 Act on the Protection of Economic Competition (the 2006 Act). The 2006 Act introduced a number of important changes in the area of merger control, mainly due to the fact that the substantive test for reviewing mergers was aligned with the test introduced at the EU level by the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). On 3 April 2013, new legislation inserted the competition law regime into Book IV of

Loan market and developments Please provide a brief overview of the current state of the loan markets in your jurisdiction and any significant recent market developments Please note that the below does not take into account any consequences or developments following a possible Brexit. Ten years after the crisis, the financial sector in Belgium has undergone a metamorphosis. The banking system has contracted mainly because of restructuring operations in entities that received government support. Banks have adopted more traditional business models, with greater emphasis on domestic lending and deposit funding. The credit cycle is intensifying, bolstered by both the economic recovery and the highly favourable financing conditions. In general, lending to businesses has continued to rise, while the growth of loans to households has stabilised. According to the Financial Stability Report 2018 of the National Bank of Belgium, the annual growth of business loans stood at 5.8 % in February 2018, compared to 4.9 % for households. Since improving economic conditions and low interest rates increased the appetite for borrowing in the private sector, loans to non-financial

TMT analysis: This is the latest round of proceedings in the Lachaux litigation odyssey. In earlier stages of the proceedings, the defendants had sought to argue that the claimant’s claim did not satisfy the serious harm threshold in section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013 (DA 2013). In these latest proceedings, it was for the High Court to determine liability. The court rejected the defence of publication on a matter of public interest and awarded the claimant £50,000 in damages against the first defendant and £70,000 against the second defendant. Written by Dominic Walker, solicitor at JMW Solicitors LLP.

Employment analysis: The belief that sex is biologically immutable, that there are only two sexes (male and female), that men are adult males and women are adult females, and that it is sex that is fundamentally important, rather than ‘gender’, ‘gender identity’ or ‘gender expression’, is a philosophical belief protected under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010, according to the EAT, in a judgment which clarifies the proper application of the Grainger test as to whether or not a belief is ‘worthy of respect in a democratic society’.

The Theft Act 1968 (TA 1968), s 5, and the Criminal Damage Act 1971, s 10, provide that property shall be regarded as belonging to any person having possession or control of it, or having in it any proprietary right or interest.

This practical guidance relates to the Procurement Act 2023 regime As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023 (where applicable), whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102, the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, SI 2016/274, the Concession Contracts Regulations 2016, SI 2016/273, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011, SI 2011/1848) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. This practical guidance focuses on public procurement under PA 2023. For practical guidance on below-threshold contracts under the previous legislation, see Practice Note: Considerations when authorities procure contracts that are not subject to the full procurement regime—pre-PA 2023 [Archived]. The below-threshold public procurement regime Generally, the below-threshold public procurement regime allows contracting authorities greater flexibility in designing a suitable procurement exercise. The provisions under PA 2023, Pt 6 set out the rules governing the procurement

A bench warrant is a court-issued arrest warrant directing police to detain and bring before the court a person who has failed to attend a hearing, failed to surrender to bail, disobeyed a summons or order, or (in some cases) a witness who has not complied with a witness summons. It is used in criminal proceedings and, where contempt or attendance is in issue, in some civil and family contexts.“Bench warrant” is a descriptive term rather than a single defined statutory label. The underlying powers derive from legislation and court rules in each jurisdiction empowering magistrates/judges to issue warrants for non-attendance and for witnesses, and to order arrest for contempt.Key features and practice:- Issued by the court “from the bench” and remains in force until executed or withdrawn.- May be endorsed “backed for bail” (allowing police bail) or “no bail” (requiring the person to be held to court).- Typically executed by any constable/Garda and the person must be produced at the earliest opportunity.- Distinct from extradition or European Arrest Warrants.Jurisdictions:- England & Wales and Northern Ireland commonly use “bench warrant”.- Scotland uses the broadly equivalent “warrant to apprehend”.- Ireland uses “bench warrant” in the District and higher courts.Cross-border execution requires the applicable statutory backing procedures.

A measure against which the performance of a fund is measured; it might be for example the FTSE 100. Peer group benchmarks (ie comparing your fund against other similar funds) have fallen into disfavour following Myners, and funds if they do benchmark, nowadays use individualised or customised benchmarks.

The land value determined as part of a viability assessment. The starting point is EUV plus an evidence-based premium, in some cases the AUV may also be deemed appropriate.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Financial Services Enforcement Database: This incorporates detailed information on all substantive FCA and PRA Final Notices and, where available, Decision Notices from 2014 onwards. The Database, available here, may be searched and filtered by rule breach, keyword including ‘LIBOR’, sector, date, seriousness, aggravating and mitigating factors, financial penalty, and other actions such as referrals to the Upper Tribunal. Prior to LIBOR reform, there were major concerns surrounding the administration and manipulation of financial market benchmarks, which led to investigations by regulators around the world and consequent enforcement and criminal action. Partly as a consequence of these actions, changes were made to the way in which these benchmarks are run and administered. The benchmarks which were the focus of enforcement action include foreign exchange, gold fixing and gilts, among others. However, much of the enforcement action and media attention centred around the manipulation of LIBOR. This Practice Note summarises regulatory enforcement actions surrounding the manipulation of benchmarks, including LIBOR, EURIBOR, foreign exchange (forex or FX),